A Stitch for the Wounds
by Homuranagi
Summary: Meeting new people can really change a person. When the outspoken and rebellious Nico Yazawa is forced to volunteer at a high school for the disabled, her life changes drastically.
1. Chapter 1

"Man, this is getting more boring with each lesson." Nico Yazawa was sitting in the front row during chemistry class, and needless to say, she didn't enjoy it. Since she was sitting so close to the teacher's desk, she couldn't hide behind her textbook and play with her phone like everyone else in her class.

"A phospholipid is made up of glycerol, two hydrophobic fatty acids and one hydrophilic phosphate…" Nico sighed. She continued to scribble strange objects in her notebook. "Glycerol, a hydrophobic fatty acid and…great, I forgot again."

Nico really didn't like chemistry. The whole subject was as far away from her as Tokyo was from Jerusalem. She rarely ever said "oh boy this class was so interesting" and staying awake for 45 minutes was often a very hard task for her. It didn't help that the teacher was a total asshole who only said everything once and you had no chance to write down what she said.

"Think of it like a ball with two strings attached to it. The ball is the hydrophilic phosphate and the two strings are the hydrophobic fatty acids. It's really simple." _Really simple yeah,_ Nico thought. If it was so simple she wouldn't have struggled with chemistry since the day she began high school.

"This lipid is a major component of cell membranes…" Nico struggled to keep her eyes open. Just one or two more minutes…

The teacher opened her mouth to speak again, but the ring of the bells stopped her. With a defeated sigh, she put down the chalk she was holding in her hands, the bell preventing her from writing another complex and "no way anyone will understand it" formula on the board.

"My prayers have been answered!" Nico rejoiced, perhaps a bit too loud since the teacher looked at her for some seconds with an ugly expression. _Oops._

The students left the lecture room as fast as possible and headed towards the location of their next class. The next class was history, finally something Nico liked. Loved, even.

Nico sat down, and reminisced about her first classes with Mr. Takano. Takano Suda was the history teacher in Nico's class, and one of the coolest people she has ever met. In his classes there was no need to play on her phone, no urge to scribble in her notebook because Takano's classes were always interesting and entertaining. Contrary to what other teachers did (which was projecting a PowerPoint presentation they downloaded the previous night and telling them to write down everything from it while they sat at their desk and drank their coffee), Takano actually spent time organizing his lectures for the next day, always adding bonus info to entertain the students, and his tests were fair and not hard to get a good mark on if you actually took your time to study.

The bells rang once again, and it was time for the lecture to begin. The lecture was the usual, with Takano explaining this and that and telling some interesting history related story inbetween.

"There was a British sailor serving as the key advisor of Tokugawa Ieyasu. His name was William Adams, or as most Japanese know him, Miura Anjin. He was the inspiration for the main character of Shogun." Nico smiled. In her mind, this was how a lecture was supposed to be. No useless information, no difficult things to memorize, only what's needed and bonus material that entertained the students, not the teacher. If only others were like him. "Has any of you read Shogun?"

Nico raised her hand. Of course she did, it was one of her favourite novels. When she wasn't listening to Japanese pop music or studying for classes, she always found a good book to read. "Oh Nico, you have? Did you enjoy it?" Takano smiled. He cared about his students and was always happy to see kids who had a passion for history. "I enjoyed it very much, in fact it's one of my favourites."

"That's good to hear. If you like Clavell's style, you might also like his other works. Tai-pan is also a very good read." Takano turned around and picked up the chalk from his desk. "Anyways, let's continue where we left off. Kawashima, when did the emperor declare Yoritomo shogun?"

"In 1192." Nico also knew the answer. It felt good being able to answer the teacher's question. She wished answering questions was this easy in other subjects as well.

"Correct. And what were the vassals of the shogunate called during this period? Nico?" The teacher turned towards her with expectant eyes. She was the best student in class and knowing the answers to such trivial questions were a given. "The gokenin…"

* * *

 _Not this again._

It was time for PE class. It wasn't like Nico hated it, or she wasn't physically fit enough, but still, sometimes PE was too much for her. When she had to study a lot, she would barely get enough sleep and that always had an effect on her the next day. Today was one of those days, and she felt extremely tired. The brain melt during chemistry class only made things worse.

She was tired, and didn't fancy fooling around and doing exercises. It was like asking a 75 years old grandma to dance a tango.

She changed into her PE uniform groggily and entered the hall. Most of her classmates were already there, fresh and ready to go. She envied them. _How can they be so energetic?!_

When she wasn't dead tired, Nico actually liked PE. She only hated a couple of exercises like running, since she didn't have long legs and got tired quickly. She also despised high jumping, because she managed to get over the horizontal pole very rarely. On the other hand, she loved playing games like dodgeball or volleyball.

The teacher entered the hall and all students stood up, including Nico. "Good day, everyone. Let's line up so we could begin." The students did as told and lined up in descending order, tallest first, shortest last. Nico was closer to the shorter side, but thankfully she wasn't the shortest.

"Alright. Today it's a bit windy outside so we'll stay in. Those who want to play basketball will come with me, the others stay here to set up for volleyball." About half of the class left with the teacher, the others stayed behind for volleyball. Nico chose volleyball as well. She wasn't exactly the tallest person around, so basketball wasn't fitting for her.

She helped the others set up the equipment, then they started. In the end her team won, but just barely. Neither teams were very good, but they were only in their first year so the team cohesion wasn't the strongest. Nico certainly wasn't the most active player, she tried to let others hit the ball instead of her because she was sure even the smallest hit from the ball would knock her out in this state.

After the end of the class the students went back to the changing rooms. Nico changed back into her normal clothes just as groggily as before. The other girls even had the energy to talk and discuss while they were getting dressed. One girl was doing something on her phone, not bothering with changing. _Must be texting her boyfriend,_ Nico thought.

"Did you hear what happened to Ueda-san?" Nico turned around at the mention of that name. Ueda Kana was another girl from Nico's class. She was a meek wallflower, always victim to the bullying of the "cool kids" of the class. About a week ago she got hit by a car and stopped attending school. Nico really felt sorry for this girl, perhaps because the two were familiar. Neither had many friends, if they had at all, and both were alone most of the time. It was only because of Nico's headstrong personality that she wasn't bullied like Ueda.

"She got hit by a car, right? I wonder what happened." The girl asking this question seemed concerned. Nico was surprised there was anyone who cared about her at all. "Don't tell this to others, but I heard she jumped in front of the car on purpose." The girl said this in a very low voice. "She tried to commit suicide?" The other girl was clearly disturbed about this revelation. "I heard she is staying in Nishikino Private Hospital right now."

Nishikino Private Hospital? Wasn't that a place for rich people who wanted the best care? To Nico's knowledge, Ueda came from a poor family. That was one of the reasons she was bullied. She couldn't afford fashionable clothes so the other girls made fun of her for it.

"Isn't that hospital a bit expensive? I thought Ueda was poor." Looks like Nico and this girl thought alike. How did Ueda have enough money? A rich relative perhaps? Unlikely. Was there a charity for her Nico didn't know of? Doubtful. Considering the indifferent attitude of her classmates towards Ueda, it was unlikely they cared enough to raise money for her. "I dunno, her parents saved up some money maybe?" Oh yeah, that was a possibility. Nico felt bad for Ueda's parents. Being poor wasn't only hard for Ueda herself, but for her parents as well. They must be blaming themselves for what happened to their daughter.

"I hope Ueda will be okay…" The girl with long auburn hair said, concerned. Nico was happy to see someone who was neither a jerk, nor a stoic bystander in her class. "Don't worry about it too much, Anju." The other girl put her hand on the auburn haired's shoulder. "I feel sorry for her, for not standing up for her. She didn't deserve what she got." The girl looked down sheepishly. "It wasn't our fault. We didn't bully her nor hit her with a car. Besides, I'm sure she'll be okay."

Okay after _that_? Everyone who cared enough about Ueda to ask what happened her after the accident knew her injuries were so severe she will most likely not be able to walk again. Bound to a wheelchair for the rest of your life is certainly not okay in Nico's book. "You know what happened to her. Her legs suffered too much damage and she needs a miracle if she wants to walk again." The other sighed. "Look, I know you are the worrying type, but try to not think much about it, okay? Moping around will not make things better." Perhaps the other girl wasn't a jerk either. That was Nico's initial impression of the girl, who casually brought up such a sad topic, but now it seems like this girl was kind as well, sort of. "It's just…I have a close friend who is also disabled, so this story with Ueda hits close to home for me."

A new girl approached the two. She had long, purple hair and a beauty mark under her left eye. "Anju, break ends in two minutes. We should get going." Anju quickly told her to 'wait a moment', which always meant "I don't know when I'll finish this conversation but don't go", and the girl sat down next to the two with a defeated sigh.

Nico thought about visiting Ueda in the hospital often. But in the end, she always chose not to. She was a selfish person after all. She had herself and her three siblings to take care of, no time for a girl who, although was very nice and was in dire need of a helping hand, was still not Nico's friend.

Nico knew she was selfish. She always excused herself with "I don't have enough time" or "I need to take care of my siblings" even though she always had a lot of free time. She knew that's why she had no friends and no one dared to get close to her, but she accepted this flaw of hers long ago.

The purple haired girl stood up and let out a sigh that was more like a warning sign. Anju turned around, noticing the frustration of her friend and quickly waved her talking partner goodbye. "Alright Elena, let's get going."

* * *

The last class for today was mathematics, another of Nico's favourites. In a sarcastical sense, of course. The students sat down at their desks and opened their notebooks. The teacher, a lady about 50-60 years old, began to write down all the tasks the students have to solve while she walks down to the principal's office for an "urgent discussion".

"Alright, you have to solve these five tasks while I'm away. Principal Minami told me to come to her office right before the class started, I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. I'll be back in 25 minutes." With that, the teacher exited the room, and the students were left alone.

Nico wondered what this 'urgent discussion' was about, or what was 'urgent' about it. She hoped the teacher wasn't getting fired or she was not going to take part in an exchange program, because that means Nico's class would get a new math teacher. And that is the worst. Having different teachers is always hard because each explains math differently and has different standards. Luckily for Nico, this teacher didn't have high standards.

Nico began solving the tasks. Usually she would take out her phone or read a book instead of doing anything related to math, but her grades were terrible and she really needed to practice if she ever wanted to advance to next grade. Sadly Nico could only solve one task. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't do the others. Sigh. "Phone or book?" Nico checked her bag to found she didn't bring any books with her today. "The phone it is, then…"

* * *

Classes were finally over, and Nico began her walk home. She had to be quiet, because the other students were heading towards where their club activities were held. Nico however, was part of no club. It wasn't like she didn't have good options. There were many clubs fit for her tastes. A geography club, a history club, a literature club, etc. She was just too lazy and didn't want to be around random strangers. She hated the company of strangers. People who are either rude to her, or in the better case, act nice around her when neccessary but otherwise don't care about her and ignore her. Nico especially hated the latter. If someone didn't like her, don't pretend like they do, dammit!

Nico slowly walked towards the staircase, slow and quiet so she won't get anyone's attention. She made her way down to the ground floor and headed towards her locker. Nico promised that she would sleep when she gets home. It wasn't the first time Nico had promised that, but these promises were never fulfilled. No matter how worried her mother was, no matter how worried her teachers were, Nico just couldn't get enough sleep. Instead of sleeping, she read books, listened to pop songs on her outdated mp3, studied, or browsed random things on her computer.

She wasn't a computer addict by any means. She was simply addicted to everything that made her forget the next day. She read books, listened to music and used her computer because all these things made her forget reality. Maybe Nico was strong on the outside, but inside she was weak. She didn't sleep because she knew that if she slept, she'd wake up in the morning the next day. She hated going to school, she hated sitting next to strangers, she hated her annoying schoolmates and she hated those pretenders who acted friendly with her when it was beneficial for them.

She hated her classmates who were popular thanks to things they never worked for. Beauty, nice, fashionable clothes, expensive accessories. All things those girls and boys never worked for. Nico often wondered why those who worked hard were the least popular. Those who might be poor, might be average or ugly, but still valuable, smart, compassionate and hardworking. Like Ueda.

Nico hated self-pity. She belonged to the plebeians who weren't popular since she didn't have clothes of the latest fashion, didn't wear the best watches from Switzerland and wasn't physically attractive or sexy. Nico was average. Her only good quality was her clever mind, which let her be one of the best students in class even if she was lacking in the sciences. Nico knew she was part of the 'losers', people who might as well be dead in the 'cool' peoples eyes, but she never self-loathed. She never thought she should be part of the popular people. She was fine where she was, and wished others would accept this as well.

If she wanted to get in some extra sleep, she usually tried to escape club activities to buy herself extra hours. Sadly, her plan failed to succeed often, thanks to a very annoying teacher who always "looked after" Nico as she said, and always forced Nico to stay in school and do something instead of club activities. Looks like today will be a successful day…

"Leaving so early?" Came a voice from behind her. It was her. This annoying, pesky teacher who always made Nico's days even worse than they already were. Maybe today won't be successful after all.

Nico contemplated making a run for the school entrance but decided against it. She always has to return the next day after all, and she'd rather not face the wrath if this teacher. So, Nico slowly turned around, trying to look as calm as possible. "Um, yeah." The teacher looked at her triumphant, and walked closer to her. "Sorry, no 'going home club' today." Nico sighed, for the millionth time today. "What do you want this time?"

The teacher looked at her with a suspicious smile. Oh oh, just what is she planning to do? "I think I have finally found the perfect solution for you. Come with me." Without giving Nico a chance to reply, the teacher began walking up the stairs, and Nico had no choice but to follow.

* * *

They were standing in front of the teachers' longue. The teacher, eager as always, Nico, worried about what lies ahead of her. "You know, I'm really glad I finally found a solution to your problem." Nico scoffed. She had no problems and was perfectly fine with skipping club activities, but of course there is always that one teacher who has to know better. "Yeah? And when will you find a solution to your problem? Like, a boyfriend." The teacher's eager expression turned into a displeased frown. "You little-" Before the two could start arguing and mocking each other like they always did, another teacher opened the door and stepped outside. It was Uchinomiya Misako, the 'holier than thou' music teacher.

"Oh, Maeda, I thought you had literature class right now." Said Uchinomiya with a great dose of faked surprise. "The principal rearranged our schedules so Saito and I switched classes. I teach class 2B now." Uchinomiya turned towards Nico now and raised an eyebrow. She wasn't Nico's music teacher but she substituted her official teacher often, and the classes they shared weren't the most pleasant. Uchinomiya, as Nico always said, was too high up her own asshole to notice her subject isn't the most vital to the students, and when a student didn't know the answer to "such a simple question" (because said student studied something else instead of music), she got really angry. This situation happened with Nico as well, although not many times.

"Yazawa, what are you doing here? Do you wish to speak with one of the teachers?" Uchinomiya tried to ask as formally as possible, but Nico could feel a hint of venom in her tone. Perhaps it was just Nico's pessimism seeing things that weren't there. "She will be discussing an important matter with me." Maeda answered the question before Nico could open her mouth.

"Oh? I hope she didn't get into trouble again." Nico was getting a bit frustrated. Her bonus sleepy time was gone for sure now, and who knows for how long they will be having this awkward conversation with this unsympathetic teacher. "I didn't, Mrs. Uchinomiya." She gave Nico a weak smile. "That's good to hear. Now, I'd rather not keep you two up. See you this afternoon, Maeda." With that, she left.

"See you this afternoon? Going on a date?" Maeda didn't appreciate this joke and pulled Nico's nose instead. "Very funny, but no, nothing like that. Some teachers will be having an afternoon tea party in the longue at around 5PM."

"And Mrs. Uchinomiya will be there?" Maeda opened the door with a sigh. "Yeah."

"My condolences."

* * *

The teacher sat down at her desk while Nico sat in a chair in front of her. Nico wondered what amazing plan she came up with this time.

Maeda Junko was an interesting person. She was fairly young and has been teaching for only 4 years. She was Nico's literature teacher and 'guardian'. Nico didn't ask her to be a guardian of course, but she insisted. She was always looking out for Nico and checked her grades frequently. When Nico's grades got tragically worse, Junko insisted on Nico taking extra lessons to get better. She didn't understand why Nico wasn't part of a club (what's so difficult to understand?) and told her to join one on a daily basis. When she caught Nico trying to leave the school during the time of club activities, she brought her to her office to find her something to do. Sometimes she had to clean a classroom, sometimes she helped the staff put posters and advertisements on the boards, sometimes she had to take extra math or chemistry classes and sometimes she helped Maeda with her paperwork.

One time she heard Nico listening to classical music on her phone, and just based on that she thought it was a good idea to put her in the music club. Nico's music club carier lasted one week and in the end Maeda had to realize she made a mistake. Her decision to let Nico quit the club become even stronger when she saw that Mrs. Uchinomiya was the club representative.

"So, what wonderful idea did you come up with now?" Nico sat in her chair waiting for the whole discussion to end. She stared at the walls, the desk, at everything just to make time go by faster. "After discussing long and hard about your matter with the principal, I came to a final decision. Starting from tomorrow, you'll be given a permanent afterschool activity which will be equal to club activities."

Nico froze in her seat. A permanent activity? No one has the right to force her to do something she doesn't want, and she will have to do this for the whole year? For the rest of high school, even? "What the hell?! I don't want any of this! I'm perfectly fine not having any stupid club activities!"

The teacher stood up, anger evident in her expression. "Nico. At this point I can't even keep count on how many times you've skipped your activities. And it isn't like you spend your free time with studying, otherwise your grades in some of the subjects wouldn't be so disastrous."

It was Nico's turn to stand up. She walked closer to the teacher until less than an inch was between them. "Don't tell me what to do! Besides, my grades are fine! I'm one of the best students in class, it isn't my fault I know nothing about math, physics or chemistry!"

"Nico, how many times did I tell you? You never listened. Now, the decision has been made. Principal Minami accepted my idea. It's for your own sake." Nico was filled with anger. She hated many things, but she hated others forcing her to do things the most. "Own sake my ass! I never asked for this! I don't want to do any activities for this dumb school!"

Maeda walked back to her desk and sat down again. "You don't have to worry about that. The activity I've chosen for you will be held in another school." The statement took Nico by surprise. If she doesn't have to work in the school, then were? "What are you talking about?"

"Starting from tomorrow, you'll be doing volunteer work at Date Masamune High School for the Disabled. Your job will be to help the staff and the students of the school."

* * *

 **The story was inspired by Katawa Shoujo. It's a really good visual novel, so I recommend others to check it out!**

 **The idea for this story popped up in my head yesterday and I decided to write it down. I hope others will enjoy it!**

 **Reviews and criticism is welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2

The walk home lacked it's usual cheerfulness. Usually Nico would be really happy to finally finish school and go home, but this time was different. _A school for the disabled, huh._ Nico wasn't so sure she liked the idea. For one Nico was very clumsy, basic chores and extra lessons were better suited for her since it was harder to make mistakes, but helping students with special needs sounded like a really serious job. You just make one mistake and the student can get easily hurt. Nico's reputation at school was bad enough already (with having no friends and all that), she didn't want her classmates to remember her as the girl who messed up and caused a blind person to fall off the stairs, or something.

What kind of students does such a school have, anyways? Nico was certainly not well-educated on the subject, and her layman mind could only think of stereotypical disabilities: blindess, mutism and hearing loss. Nico thought children with learning problems such as dyslexia go to normal schools, they just aren't obligated to do the same as their healthy classmates. But according to an article she read ages ago (she wasn't particularly interested, just bored and wanted to waste time), children with such conditions went to special schools as well.

 _Since I'm so bad at math, perhaps I have dyscalculia as well._ Probably not, Nico thought. She was just simply too stupid and too lazy. It was a miracle she managed to pass with a mediocre grade last semester. And she didn't even cheat once!

All things considered, Nico was in a bad mood. Not to say she was usually cheerful and bright like the sun, she was fairly stoic and bored on most days, but today was an exceptionally bad day. She wasn't sure why she felt that way. At least now Ms. Maeda will stop bothering her every day for skipping her nonexistent club activities. Sure, the 'job' sounded tiring and dangerous for a person as clumsy as her, but perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps she just hated the idea of spending hours at a random school among hundreds of _sick_ people instead of dreaming about something nice in her comfy bed. She also disliked the idea of spending time with a bunch of kids who might be even grumpier and more unfriendly than her classmates.

 _No worries, I'll get through this someway._

With a defeated sigh, Nico took a turn to the left instead going straight to her home. On the left road was a small and fairly cheap sweets shop Nico liked to visit in her free time, or when she had some money to spare. Nico was a sweet tooth, finding happiness in the consumption of everything sweet when other things gave no happiness to her. Whenever she visited the shop she always had some extra money to buy something for her siblings as well. Her little siblings loved sweet things as well since they were small children. _Perhaps that means I'm a child too._

She entered the small shop with a large step. "Time to eat away my sorrows."

* * *

She was standing in front of her apartment now. Finding the keys and inserting them into the lock was posing to be very difficult with a large bag occupying her hands. Spending all my spare money for this month on sweets wasn't the greatest idea, it seems.

Getting more and more frustrated with each passing second, Nico put the large bag in her left hand and tried to insert the key with the free one.

According to some psychologists, the way a person opens a door says a lot about their personality. Let's say you have something in your hands that makes it hard to open the door. If you put down this something to free your hands, you are most likely more submissive. But if you don't put it down and choose to struggle with one hand, you are most likely more headstrong and independent.

After another minute of struggling she finally managed to open the door. On the other side three young faces welcomed her. Kotarou, Kokoro and Kokoa stood in front of her with welcoming but also expectant eyes. "Welcome back, Nico." They said in unision, then proceeded to give her a hug. Koutaro noticed the large bag in her hand. "Sissy, what's that? What's inside?" Said Kotarou, pointing at the large paper bag with his small fingers. "Can we check?" Asked Kokoa this time.

Nico managed to actually walk inside her aparment (which was a very hard task when her little siblings taunted her with hugs and neverending questions), and put down her bags. "I'll tell you soon, just let me get changed first." _Boo,_ said the two little smurfs at once. They didn't like waiting, like most children their age. "Guys, Nico must've had a hard day. Just let her rest a bit for now." Scolded Kokoro, the oldest of her three siblings.

Even if Nico had no friends, she could always count on Kokoro. They often talked about some issues when the other two were sleeping and they often prepared for Christmas and other celebrations together. Kokoro was very mature for her age. Regardless, there were many things Nico could never talk about with her. She was still too small, she wouldn't understand.

After Nico changed into her home wear, she went to the kitchen to finally empty the large bag she has been carrying with her for the past 40 minutes. She put the bag on the kitchen table and slowly opened it, making sure it wouldn't get torn. Then she started taking out the stuff she bought. First up was a 4-pack of moderately sized muffins, one of Nico's many favourites. Under it was a small bag containing many different types of candies. Nico made sure she bought a bit of everyone's favourite. After that came a group of nicely packed manju, all filled with red bean paste. And last but not least, on the bottom were two slices of cherry cake, one for her siblings and one for her mother to thank her for taking care of all of them this month as well.

Nico grabbed four plates and prepared their "bonus pre-dinner meal". Her siblings were patiently sitting at the table. She walked towards the table slowly, making sure none of the plates would fall from her hands. After successfully finishing this task she sat down, and the Yazawa children began to eat.

* * *

 _First class is physics, yaaaay…_

The morning didn't bring much happiness to Nico either. Her mother came home from work very late the previous night, and Nico waited for hours for her to arrive instead of going to sleep like the others. Somewhere around 2AM her mother finally arrived, tired and exhausted again. Nico really wished her mother would slow down once in a while. She hated how her mother had to do everything for her children, overworking herself almost every day (yes, even during the weekend since she worked on Saturdays and Sundays as well). She was like Atlas who carried the whole Earth on his shoulders, only her mother wasn't a powerful Titan, just a mere, exhausted human.

When Nico became old enough she started cooking the family's meals instead of her mother. When Nico became even older she began washing the clothes of the family instead of her mother. Nowadays she was the one doing all the chores in this house. The only thing she couldn't do was substituting her mother at her work.

Yes, Nico was very tired today as well. Yes, she barely got any sleep yesterday, again.

To top it all off, first period was physics, another subject Nico despised. The teacher was thankfully less of a total asshole when you compared her to the chemistry teacher, but she was terrible in every other sense. Her mind couldn't understand that almost everyone in the class didn't understand physics, so she always said they were just lazy. She also made tests that were very difficult to solve.

Oh, and Nico's first visit to this 'special school' was today as well. Great, looks like today was going to be an interesting day.

* * *

 _Last period, finally._

The gods and goddesses listened to Nico's pleas once again, and her last period for today was something she could survive without her braincells getting damaged. It was history with Mr. Takano.

"So does anyone remember the person I mentioned yesterday?" Mr. Takano was fresh and ready to begin as usual. If Nico ever becomes an adult, she wants to be like him. "Miura Anjin." Somehow, Nico couldn't concentrate. The visit to this strange school occupied her mind. She was excited about it. "Correct. And as I've said, 'Miura Anjin' was a name given to him by the Japanese. The man himself was not Japanese. Does anyone know which country he came from? Nico, do you know?"

Nico was so occupied with her thoughts she didn't even notice Takano saying her name. Mr. Takano noticed her odd behaviour but decided to let it slide. "Kawasaki?" Takano noticed Nico's daydreaming expression. This has never happened before. Usually, she was one of the few students who always paid attention, and deep down Takano hoped she was enjoying his lectures. "From France?" Takano shook his head. "Close, but no. The right answer is England."

* * *

After class, Mr. Takano told Nico he wanted to speak with her. Nico didn't know why, but she had the vague idea it was related to her daydreaming and not paying attention during the lecture. "Nico, you were unusually inactive during the lesson." Nico gulped. Great, now the only teacher who previously had a positive opinion about her dislikes her. "No sir, I was just…a bit worried about something. I promise the same thing won't happen again."

Takano shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm not angry about you. In fact I'm a bit concerned. Is everything alright?" Nico didn't know how to respond to that. If she told the truth, that she was worried about working at a school for the disabled, Takano might think she was a bad person. To kind people like him, working for the sake of the weak must be the holiest of things. "Ms. Maeda found me an afterschool activity. It's not held at the school and we are going to check it out today, after my classes ended."

Mr. Takano sighed. _Looks like it was not a serious problem._ "That sounds interesting. What is this activity about?" Nico looked at the clock. It was close to 2PM, which was the time when she was supposed to meet at in front of the school, with Ms. Maeda. "Apparently I'll be helping the staff and the students at a special school for the disabled. I'm honestly a bit worried about it." Takano smiled and put his arm on her shoulder reassuringly. "Helping the disabled is one of the most beautiful things you can do," _Crap, I know he would say that,_ Nico thought, "but it's understandable if you are worried. Helping out disabled people comes with great responsibility." Nico checked the time once again, it was exactly 2PM. "Thank you, sir. I have to go now, I'm supposed to meet Ms. Maeda soon."

"Very well. Just try not to worry too much about it, Nico. And also, I hope this new activity of yours won't affect your performance!" Takano waved goodbye, and Nico was out of the room. She quickly ran down the stairs (even though running was not allowed), hoping Ms. Maeda didn't have to wait for her for too long. She flung the front doors open like a character from an overdramatic movie and stepped outside the school. Maeda was already standing there, waiting for Nico to arrive. _Oh-oh._

"You are late." Maeda turned towards her direction and looked at her with a dangerous look.

"I can explain-"

"Whatever, let's just get going."

* * *

Thanks to Ms. Maeda's genius planning, the two had to take a long walk. First they took the bus, then they went to the subway station, but Maeda didn't know the subway didn't stop at the place where they were supposed to get off. So they had to get off sooner and walk the remaining distance.

Of course Nico should've expected something like this to happen. Maeda was good at creating new ideas, but terrible at executing them. Last year she planned the 3-day trip of Nico's class and told the parents of the students about every single detail, she even explained how to make a good sandwich (why, don't ask), but she forgot to mention one important detail: They were supposed to travel by train. So the class showed up without train tickets and of course they couldn't travel, so the class trip was postponed to next week.

"All this walking should be considered an activity by itself." Nico groaned, getting exhausted. "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes." Nico groaned again. "Yeah, but you mess up almost every day and your cliched answer won't make my suffering less bad."

"Some exercise is good for you, I'd say. Perhaps if you did some sports instead of complaining and whining you'd grow a few centimeters." Nico turned towards her with a deadly expression. "Oh yeah? I bet I'm still more likely to find a boyfriend than you, even without those few centimeters."

Maeda sighed. "Are we going to keep doing this the whole way?" She took out her phone to check something. "Well, it's not like I started. Hey, are you paying attention?" When Nico didn't get an answer, she poked Maeda's arm gently. "Sorry, I was checking my notes. According to what principal Minami told me, we are supposed to meet with the staff at 15:30."

"Did you tell them to expect us to be 2-3 hours late?"

"Very funny."

* * *

Supposedly, the two were getting close to the school now. "Do you see that large board with the drawing of a man sitting in a wheelchair on it? The building behind that board is the school."

Nico turned towards the direction Maeda pointed. "Looks nice, I guess." Said Nico with a dose if indifference. In truth, she was getting more nervous with each step she took. "So, what tasks am I going to do, anyways?"

"Principal Minami didn't go into the details and the representative I talked to on the phone didn't tell me much either, but from what I remember you'll be assigned to different girls with different disabilities and help and support them until you are done." Nico groaned. She really didn't fancy the idea of being the lackey of others for days. "Can't I do paperwork or clean the school instead?"

Maeda stopped and looked straight into her eyes. "No. This whole deal is about you making bonds with new people, people very different from you, and helping them. I'm sure things will be hard and unusual for you at first, but trust me after a while you'll notice how much better it is to help them instead of washing a disgusting toilet by yourself."

"Sure, if you say so…" They entered the building. Inside, a bunch of other kids about Nico's age or higher were listening to some dude (perhaps a teacher of the school?) who was talking about the history of the school and whatnot. "Are we late?" Nico whispered to Maeda. "No, this lecture is for the students from Toshima ward. The lecture for the students from Shinjuku will start in ten minutes."

The two talked to the janitor who told them the lecture will be held on the second floor. "I have to go back to school now to finish the paperwork, but before I do that, one more thing: Principal Minami asked you to write a journal about your experiences at this school."

"What is this, elementary school? "Yes mommy I'll write down everything that happened to me!" Nico didn't like this stupid idea. She considered journals a personal thing, something she wasn't supposed to share with others. She wasn't sure how she felt about Mrs. Minami reading her journals. And knowing Maeda, she would read it before giving it to the principal and use it to make fun of Nico. "Rules are rules. The principal wants to see the progress and the opinion of her students. Good luck. And if I find out you skipped your duties, I'll strangle you with my own hands."

With that, Maeda walked out the entrance, and Nico was left alone.

"Wait, the lecture is on the second floor, but in which room? The janitor didn't tell me!"

* * *

Nico quickly walked up to the second floor and began checking the rooms. After several minutes she was close to giving up. She continued walking up and down, hoping some miracle would happen and the right door would just appear in front of her. Kind of like her math exams. When she was out of ideas, she always hoped the test sheet would magically write itself.

Wouldn't it be practical to have a notice saying "hey scrub lecture for the students of Shinjuku ward here" on the door? "Wait. What if the janitor was wrong and the lecture is on the third floor?" It would explain why there were no notices on the doors. Nico quickly jogged up to the third floor, but quickly noticed this wasn't the right place. The hallway was dark since the lights weren't on and all doors were closed. There was no sign of any activity on this floor.

Suddenly, Nico heard voices coming from the very end of the hallway. She saw two girls standing there and reading handouts. Those handouts were given to interested students on the bottom floor, it was a describtion about "the various disabilities and diseases". Nico wasn't interested.

One of the girls was very tall (the kind of tall Nico envied and wished to be) with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes. She was paying close attention to the paper in her hands. The other one had very long purple hair and had a smile on her face. She was also reading the paper, occassionally looking up to say something to the other girl.

Nico was hoping the two were looking for the right room like her, but the girls were wearing casual clothes so Nico had no idea which school they came from. Nico also wanted to change to her casual clothes but she didn't have the time to do that (thanks to Ms. Maeda and her impatience).

This whole situation was like a scene from a horror movie, when the scary things start happening to the main character. Someone turned the lights on, but it wasn't the two girls, and it wasn't Nico either. A bit scared, Nico decided to talk to the girls, perhaps they did know where to go.

Before she could reach them, someone grabbed her shoulder from behind. Startled, Nico let out a small yelp. When she turned around, she saw a man standing in front of her. There was a badge with the name of the school on it. _A staff member._

"What are you doing on the third floor, miss?" The man wasn't angry, but Nico thought she was going to get in trouble. "I uhh…I came from Otonokizaka High School in Shinjuku ward, but I can't find the right room." Nico looked behind her for a minute, but the two girls were no longer there. _Must've taken the stairs on the other end of the hallway._

"Students of the Shinjuku ward will have their lecture in Room 202 on the second floor. It starts in two minutes so you should hurry." So it was on the second floor then. Nico wondered how could she have missed to check Room 202. Murphy's law, if you check all but one room then the one room you didn't check will be the right one. "Thank you, sir."

Nico ran past the staff member and ran down the stairs as quickly as possible. She really didn't want to be late on her first day. Maeda sounded pretty serious when she said "I'll strangle you with my own hands."

After less than a minute Nico was standing in front of room 202. Inside, she could already hear the voice of a dozen students. "Well, here goes nothing."

She opened the door to the room, which was more like a giant hall big enough for even two hundred students. Inside there were already a lot of people as she expected. There were about 3 adults (most likely the ones doing the lectures) who were setting up their equipment. Nico looked at the clock to see she wasn't late. The lecture starts in one minute.

Most chairs were already occupied but Nico managed to find an empty chair after a bit of walking around. She sat down, now completely ready to begin her carier at Date Masamune High School for the Disabled.

* * *

"Alright everyone. Welcome to Date Masamune High School for the Disabled. I'm Takahashi Kenichiro, the deputy principal of the school. This wonderful lady on my right is Kondou Aiko, the head representative of the nurses. The man to my left is Ikeda Takeshi, the representative of the teaching staff. As you all know, starting from today you are volunteers at our school and will be helping the staff to provide even better treatment for our students."

Nico wondered how long the lecture will last. It was autumn so the sun set sooner. It was already getting dark outside. She had to walk home, and this dark environment wasn't the best for a girl like Nico.

"This project has been one of our biggest dreams for a long time. Many years ago, Mrs. Kondou was the one to create this idea, however it was rejected since the school was smaller and had less funds back then. Last year the idea came back again and this time the staff and the higher authorities agreed to execute our plan. We started negotiating with a lot of schools from Tokyo and the neighbouring cities about the possibility of a volunteer program. Right now we have partnerships with about 20 schools."

 _Yeah yeah, I don't care about the details. Get to the point already, old man._

"Our biggest partners include Kokusai High School, Tokyo Gakuen High School and UTX Academy. We also had an exceptionally high number of students volunteering from Otonokizaka High School. And I'm happy to say that we are getting more volunteers each year. It's good to see that more and more children are taking an interest in doing volunteer work for those in need."

 _Oh boy, here comes the melodrama._ Nico silently opened her schoolbag and took out a notebook, just in case she needs to write some important info down.

"Doing volunteer work is one of the best activities you can choose. It's not only good for the people you help, but you also get a lot of experience that might be useful when you are looking for a job. I'm sure some of you have done some sort of volunteer work. At a zoo, at a botanical garden, at public libraries etc. but to most of you this experience will be very different. Treating people with disabilities is indeed very different from the previous jobs you had. But enough of the statistics and whatnot, let's actually talk about the school, the students and the jobs we expect you to do."

 _Oh man, we are finally getting to the point!_

"First off, let's begin with the brief history of this school. Date Masamune High School for the Disabled was opened in 1986 thanks to the donations of Kondou Hisao. May he rest in peace. Mr. Kondou's son went blind when he was 13, and Mr. Kondou, who was a rich and famous businessman, decided to fund a school that would provide the best treatment for people like his son. Mrs. Aiko here is the daughter of Mr. Kondou. On his deathbed, Mr. Kondou made her promise she will always serve this school and it's students."

 _Wow, wasn't that a Hollywood sob story!_

"Initially, the school was in a rough position. Back then, Japan's official state on people living with disabilities was rather…harsh. For years the government has refused to fund such schools while the schools for "normal" people (as the government said) received their full attention. Then, in 2007, the Japanese government finally signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, putting an end to the mistreatment and segregation of disabled children. From then on the government sent funds to schools such as ours and stopped the segregation of disabled students from the healthy children."

Nico started writing down some info. While it wasn't the most exciting story ever, it was still part of history in some way, and Nico felt obligated to write some of it down. Maybe Mr. Takano will be happy tomorrow if Nico mentions all this. And she can also write some of it down in her "journal". Yuck.

"Now, Mrs. Kondou will speak. She will talk about some of the disabilities and conditions that the children of the schools suffer from." The man did as he said, handing the microphone over to the mentioned woman. "I'm Kondou Aiko, the representative of the nurses. I assume some of you might be confused why there are nurses. Usually there is only one nurse at the schools you attend. Since this school educates children with disabilities, it is a neccessity to have a large amount of nurses who take care of all the students."

 _That was…fairly obvious._

"Now I'll talk about some famous and less well-known disabilities. To give you a better understanding, I also made a presentation you can see to my right. First off, let's talk about the ones everybody knows about. First off, blindness."

 _I hope this won't turn into a biology class where she explains how the lack of certain elements damages the receptors and creates blindness…or something._

"Blindness or visual impairment is perhaps the most famous disability. It's well-known to everyone because of it's common portrayal in fiction and media. According to the World Health Organization there are 39 million blind people on this planet, about 15% of the 285 million visually impaired. Visual impairment is preventable or curable with proper treatment, but in today's world people don't have enough time for their health. That's why people should go to the ophthalmologist for frequent checkups."

The lecture was starting to get interesting now ( _and thankfully there was a pleasant lack of biology or chemistry)._

The woman showed the audience several pictures of blind people and a drawing of how the eyeball of blind people looks like, compared to healthy people.

"Next up let's talk a bit about deafness or hearing loss. Hearing loss is the partial or total inability to hear. What most doesn't know is that deafness can also occur in just one ear. There is a big difference between the treatment of deaf people who were born with it and the ones who went deaf afterwards. People belonging to the latter can sometimes be able to speak a few sentences while the former never learnt the ability to speak."

Another presentation about deafness followed, this time around there was a short video about the education of deaf people. After deafness a lot of others followed, muteness, social anxiety, Down syndrome, ADHD, depression, and so on.

"For last let's talk about a group of related but slightly different conditions people often have negative and wrong ideas about. Autism. Thanks to the bad influence of the media and the prejudice towards people with autism in the 1900s, most people know lies and half-truths about this condition. First off, the stereotype that autists are "retarded" or "dumb" and are completely unable to socialize. Of course there are autists whose conditions are more severe and are less intelligent than other autists, and there are indeed autists who can't socialize and avoid company."

Nico actually felt a bit bad now. She was going to work among disabled people which most likely included people with autism, and she too had some negative stereotypes about them before. She was also one of the many kids who used "autism" and "retarded" as derogatory terms when she was younger.

"But there are also many autists who have a lot of friends and it's incredibly hard to tell they aren't "normal". There are also many who excel at something they really like. I'm sure most of you heard about autists who are really good at mathematics or physics, it's another very common stereotype."

 _Perhaps I should look for an autist genius coach me._

"And finally, to avoid confusion, our school doesn't try to force kids with autism to behave like healthy people. We put focus on letting autists be themselves and develop their skills."

Before ending her lecture, Mrs. Kondou showed a small presentation about autism as well. She also showed the students a video of the stereotypes about autists and the negative effect they have on them. At last, she finished and handed the microphone over to the representative of the teaching staff.

"I'm Ikeda Takeshi and I'll be representing the teachers of this school. In the following 30 minutes I'll talk about the various jobs you volunteers will do and your responsibilities."

 _"Your responsibilities." Sounds like serious business._

While Mr. Ikeda was setting up his presentation, Nico looked around to search for other Otonokizaka students. The vice principal did say there are many volunteers from Otonokizaka, so she should be able to spot a few.

She did not spot many, but she did spot the two girls she saw on the third floor earlier. They were silently chatting about something while Mr. Ikeda was preparing. They really seemed to enjoy each other's company. Nico wished she had a close friend she could speak with so casually and personally. She wondered which school they came from.

"As Mr. Takahashi has said before, you'll do voluntary work that's really different from the others. Helping disabled students comes with a few rules. When you are asked to look after one student, you can't leave them alone even for a minute, unless they go to the toilet. Leaving certain students alone can be really dangerous to their health because of their disabilities, so please don't do that. Second, anyone who is rude to our students or makes fun of them for their illnesses will be kicked out instantly. We don't condone such behaviour and expect our volunteers to be mature and patient people. Third, every disability has different treatment. You are not allowed to take a blind student out to play football and you aren't allowed to check the prosthetics of students, etc."

 _Sounds kind of simple._

"Sometimes the student you were assigned to asks to leave the premises of the school. They might want to go shopping or visit a local shrine. During these times you are to accompany the student and never leave them alone."

Mr. Ikeda continued to talk about the various jobs Nico and her fellow sufferers will be expected to do, and Nico wrote down each diligently. She really didn't want to mess up.

After the lectures ended the three adults began handing out today's assignments. As Ikeda said, since there are a lot of volunteers sometimes some of them will have to do cleaning or paperwork because there were not enough students for each volunteer. Nico kind of-sort of hoped she'd be one of those "poor volunteers" who were left without any assigned students, but sadly she wasn't.

Right now, she was standing in the middle of the hallway with the basic info of her first "case". The clock read 5PM. Work will end at 6PM every day.

"Let's see who this person is." Nico started reading the paper.

 _"Umi Sonoda, 15 years old. Deaf by birth, entered school four years ago._

 _Loves nature, asks to be allowed to visit the forest very often. Reads mouths_

 _slowly so it is advised for the assigned parner [the volunteer] to speak as slowly_

 _and as accurately as possible. She usually communicates by writing but rarely_

 _she uses sign language so it is advised to assign a volunteer who has the most_

 _knowledge of it. Her room is room 300 on the right wing, third floor."_

 _Oh good God,_ Nico thought. She was a beginner at this and not good with people her age to top it all of, did they really have to assign her to a person she can barely even communicate with? And how the hell was she supposed to learn sign language? What's next, learn Russian if she is assigned to a Russian person?

Enough complaining, it's time to go.

* * *

Nico slowly but surely approached room 300. She had no idea what would await her but it wasn't like she had the option to run away. She thought an hour of awkwardness with a deaf person was still better than receiving punishment from Ms. Maeda.

Not bothering to avoid the inevitable any longer, she opened the door. If she expected some gruesome demon ready to eat her to be inside, she was wrong. Instead, a young girl her age was sitting in an armchair, reading the latest issue of Nicola.

However, Nico's other premonition became true: Nico entered the room, thinking the girl would notice her presence, so she just stood there until this girl (Umi, was it?) would speak to her. _She was deaf, you dumbass._

Thanks to the kindess of the gods this girl, Umi, decided to look up once and finally noticed the other's presence. Awkward.

 _Oh no what do I do,_ Nico panicked, before remembering that the note said Umi Sonoda could read other's mouth. "Uh, hi. I'm your assigned partner for today."

The girl stared at her with a serious expression, but she had that expression even before noticing Nico so she wasn't sure what it meant. After a good minute of awkwardness (what a staring contest it was!), Umi stood up abruptly and grabbed a piece of paper. She started scribbling something, and now Nico was even more confused. Finally, the girl's hands stopped and she raised the piece of paper up in the air so Nico could see.

 _"You didn't knock."_

 _Oh._ "I'm sorry, I was just kinda worried and forgot to knock." Nico said this slowly and as articulately as possible. The girl put the piece of paper in her lap and started scribbling something again. _"It's fine, you don't need to be so worried."_

Nico felt more relaxed now. Perhaps this girl wasn't so bad afterall. "Umm, is it okay if I continue talking or do you want me to write as well?" The girl looked confused as well, maybe Nico said it too fast? "Is it okay if I talk or do you want me to write?" She repeated, this time more slowly, making sure Umi would get it.

 _"Talking is fine for now. Besides, I have to practice lip-reading."_

Another minute of awkward silence followed. Nico was still standing in front of the door, not knowing what she was supposed to do next. She hoped Umi was used to getting partners so she would help her explain what she was supposed to do.

Umi looked at Nico again, and her hands patted her bed with a "come sit down" motion. Nico did as told and sat down next to this strange girl.

Well, if Nico was here and she was supposed to learn more about these students, she figured she might as well ask some things about her. She turned towards Umi so she could see her mouth. "You room is nice and, well…simple." Umi smiled faintly. _"I don't care too much about what is or what isn't in my room. I usually try to spend as little time in my room as possible. I prefer being outside."_

A nature-lover, huh. Makes sense, it was mentioned in her note as well. "Do you like nature? Why?" Umi thought about it for some seconds before answering. She also had to write down everything and Nico has to get used to that. _"I think nature reminds me of everything I have and everything I don't have at the same time. When I'm outside, I try to imagine what nature is like to people who can hear. You know, the howling wolves, the chirping birds, those kinds of things. The way I understand nature is probably very different from theirs."_

"And what do you do when you are out? Do you just like to explore?" Umi's room really was simple. Besides the armchair and the bed, there was only one desk in the middle of the room, one closet for her clothes and a small bookshelf. _"Well, I like exploring too but sometimes when I'm not allowed to go far without a partner I just sit down and enjoy the sight. I have a friend who really likes to draw, I often sit next to her and watch the whole process."_

Nico felt like she was out of questions for this topic. Guess this is what happens when you have your first conversation with a person you don't really know. What else should she ask her about? All questions Nico could think of were related to her disability, which is probably a sensitive topic for her. She didn't want to be rude. The other options sounded too cliche. "What TV shows do you watch?" and such sounded all too forced.

She was saved from the pain of awkward silence once again when Umi "spoke up" instead. _"Why did you chose to volunteer?"_ "I was forced to do this by an annoying teacher" didn't sound like a good answer, but whatever. "It wasn't my idea, a teacher made me volunteer."

 _"So you don't want to do it?"_ Nico gulped. What was the right answer to that? The truth was she really didn't, but it wasn't like she hated Umi's presence. While she looked a bit intimidating and serious at first sight, she was actually pleasant to talk to. Or converse with, rather. "I don't know. The problem isn't with helping others, I'm just worried I mess up and get punished for it."

 _"Don't worry about that! Our teachers tend to tell the volunteers they really need to take care of our every steps, but in truth we aren't babies! We can take care of ourselves. Well, most of us can. Of course there are the newer students who didn't get help previously, they are more fragile but usually the teachers assign the seasoned volunteers to them."_

"And what did your partners usually do? Just follow you around?" If what Umi said was true, then Nico was happy she wasn't assigned to a new student. _"Not really. Of course if I went outside they had to follow me to make sure I don't get hurt, but usually they had to go to classes with me and help me, or we studied sign language together."_

"And were your partners usually nice?" Umi thought about the answer for a long time. _"Well, thankfully most of them are,_ Umi looked a bit sad at the last part, _"but I really don't like the partners who act like they are bored and wished they could go home already. I_ _hate_ _dislike feeling like I'm a nuisance to others."_

Nico felt a bit guilty for the second time today. She really didn't like this whole volunteer business, but she actually enjoyed the conversation she was having with Umi right now. She felt sorry for her. It must be really terrible when you feel like others consider you a pain in the neck and don't take you seriously.

In the end, she decided it was better to drop the topic before she ruins Umi's mood completely. "Was that a Nicola magazine you were reading?" Umi was a bit surprised, she probably expected Nico to continue the previous topic. _"I'm not a fashion fanatic but my friend loves fashion and has every issue of the magazine. I thought it looked interesting so I borrowed it."_

The remaining time was spent with casual chatter just like before, and Nico was happy because Umi enjoyed talking to her as well. After the clock hit six it was time to say goodbye, and Umi reluctantly let Nico go. For a minute Nico thought Umi was sad to see her leave, but probably not. It must feel nice to know someone misses your presence. Nico rarely felt that way.

Nico stepped outside the school and began her long journey home. She wondered what the future will bring.

Perhaps this deal isn't so bad after all.

* * *

Nico was currently 10 minutes away from her apartment. When she left the school it was already pretty dark as she expected, yet she didn't start going faster. Instead, she walked slowly, thinking about the events of this long, tiring and exciting day. In good Nico fashion, she missed both the subway and the bus and after an hour of waiting she wished she was never born, but in the end she somehow made it back.

She turned the keys in the lock and opened the door. It was getting close to 8PM so her siblings were most likely sleeping already. Too bad, she wished she could talk about today's events with someone.

After taking a shower and changing into her pyjamas she jumped into her bed and slowly fell asleep.

She didn't have this much sleep in a long time.

For the first time in many weeks, Nico felt fresh and ready to go. The walk to the school was without worries, for now she felt good. She was excited and couldn't wait to talk about her experiences with Maeda and Takano.

She could hear the chirping of birds in the distance. She usually hated this their sound which she considered annoying and repetitive.

 _When I'm outside, I try to imagine what nature is like to people who can hear. You know, the howling wolves, the chirping birds, those kinds of things._

Maybe hearing the birds all the time isn't so bad after all.

* * *

 **That will be it for this chapter! I was surprised to see so many positive reviews and they really made me happy!**

 **This chapter took a really loooong time to make since I wanted to make it realistic. I spent some time reading about how these special schools actually work.**

 **I hope I didn't offend anyone!**

 **Also guess how many times I wrote "autits" instead of "autists" accidentally.**

 **Reviews and criticism is welcome!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Kotarou, Kokoa, stop running around and sit down!" Yazawa Nico was currently busy making breakfast for her siblings. Everything was fine until the two youngest started running around. Nico looked at the clock; it was 7:00. She had 30 minutes to feed her siblings (her mother was already gone off to work), change into her uniform and get to the school in time.

After being scolded, the two children sat down at the table. Kokoro, the eldest of the three, was already sitting there. "Sissy, shouldn't you hurry?" Kokoro asked with some worry in her voice. She didn't like it when Nico overworked herself. "Maybe if I didn't need to babysit all of you I wouldn't have to struggle so much with going to school all day!" Nico explained, perhaps a bit too harshly.

"Well, it's not my fault I'm not "old" enough to do the chores!" Kokoro retorted, annoyed. She always tried to help Nico as much as possible, so she didn't like being scolded. "I never said it was, besides I mostly meant the other two devils." Nico turned around, pointing the kitchen spoon towards Kokoa and Kotarou menacingly. "Sorry, big sis." The two apologized in unison, not forgetting to make a sad puppy face to guilt trip Nico again. _How can I stay angry at them after that, dammit._

"Let's just drop the topic. Breakfast is ready." Nico put the plates full of delicious food in front of them. "Let's eat." Today's breakfast was rice porridge with fried eggs and grilled fish. There was also a bottle of orange juice in addition. Nico didn't let the young ones drink much of it however, since she considered it unhealthy. "Sissy, can I drink some orange juice?" Asked Kotarou after finishing his meal. He was a fast eater, the little boy. "Sure, I'll pour it for you." Kotarou handed his plastic cup over to Nico (she still didn't allow him to drink from a glass, it was too dangerous for him).

"Here you go." She gave the now filled cup back to Kotarou, who drank it in some mere seconds. "Stop doing that, one day you'll choke on your drink." Kotarou stood up from the table, ready to go back to his room and play. "Sorry Nico. And thanks for the food." With that he slowly walked to his room on his small legs. After he was out of Nico's vision she turned back to the other two. "Anyone want seconds?" The two shook their head. "No."

* * *

"Be good and remember not to open the door to anyone!" Nico was finally ready to go, although she was definitely going to be a bit late. She hoped she could excuse it with yesterday's "tiring" volunteer job. "Have a nice day, Nico!" Her three younger siblings waved goodbye to her.

Since nothing was ever perfect in Nico's life, today she couldn't get the elevator. Most likely some old lady was discussing something with another while keeping the door from closing with her hands (these old people always do that!). Why was it good for them? Did they ever realize how much annoyance they caused to people like Nico with this?

"Man, screw these old farts. I swear the next time I see one on the bus I won't give my seat to them!" It's not like Nico usually travelled by bus, but just for this small chance of revenge she promised she would use them more often from now on.

Without any other convenient solution (she couldn't jump out of the window after all, even if it was the fastest way down), she started running down the stairs. Many years ago when Nico and her parents moved here and none of her siblings were born yet, Nico's mother considered buying the apartment on the top floor since it was the cheapest. But Nico's father protested, he wanted her and her future siblings to live in the best apartment they could afford. In this current situation Nico wished she could kiss her father for not choosing the apartment on the top floor. She didn't want to imagine what it's like running down the stairs from there. Since these old people "took the elevator" for themselves all the time, there was definitely someone living up there who had to run down the stairs.

Nico almost tripped and fell but managed to keep her balance, so she made it out the entrance door and started running down the street. Maybe if she caught an earlier subway she could make it to her first class in time. In moments like these Nico really wished she was a fast runner.

"Come on, just a few more meters!" Nico ran like the Greek hero who ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver the news of victory. Nico hoped she wouldn't die by the end of her "marathon" like he did, though. "Man…I really…should…start…exercising…from… now on…" In the end Nico did reach the subway station without dying or even tripping once, and was delighted to see that the earlier subway didn't leave yet.

After waiting and catching her breath for 30 seconds the subway arrived. _Damn, I was really close to missing it._

Nico got on the subway and put her fate in Fortuna's hands. If she was lucky she would make it to school in time. If she wasn't, well... Of course Nico was lucky enough to have her first class with Ms. Maeda. She would definitely be furious, and might even think Nico was afraid to attend her class because she skipped her volunteer work yesterday. Nico decided that definitely cannot happen. As soon as she got off this subway she would sprint to school as fast as she could, even if she would actually die this time.

* * *

"I…hate…my…life…Hahh, hahh…" Nico kept the promise she made to herself and ran to school without even stopping to catch her breath once. She didn't die nor collapse from tiredness this time around either, but she was sweating, _melting_ like a snowman put in an oven.

"I swear…if Maeda…scolds me…one…more…time…I'm going…to…" Nico entered the school while mumbling some incomprehensible gibberish under her breath. She slowly walked up the stairs, holding onto the handraill all the while, afraid that if she let go, she would fall.

In the end Nico somehow made it to literature class without being late. She still had two minutes before the class started. She wanted to spend those two minutes checking her homework before she realized she had something more important to bother with. "Oh crap, I forgot to check my diary one more time!"

Nico did as Maeda not so kindly requested and started writing a diary about her adventures at the other school. However she was too tired the previous day to write everything down and just wrote down small bits and pieces here and there. _Well, I guess I did do it so she can't complain…_

 _"September 15 – First day at Date Masamune High School_

 _I went to the high school for the disabled for the first time. Ms. Maeda had urgent matters to tend to so I was left alone to figure out everything by myself. I was told to attend a special lecture but no one told me where it was being held, so I decided to search for the location myself. I went to the third floor which was off-limits and the janitor, who caught me, informed me about where I was supposed to go. The lecture lasted for 1,5 hours and it was, well…boring. Most of what they told me was information I already knew (and any not dumb person would've figured them out themselves), but I did find the presentations about the different illnesses and conditions somewhat interesting._

 _After the lecture was over I got my first disabled student I was supposed to take care of until six. The girl I was partnered with, Umi, was deaf by birth and I was informed I should learn the sign language in the future, so I was scared about how my first time would go. Thankfully Umi turned out to be rather nice and mature and in a way it was almost like she took care of me instead._

 _I think my first day was a pleasant experience…although I'd still prefer if I didn't have to do all of this."_

Nico finished reading the final bits with a sigh. "Well, I don't think what I wrote is too bad. And I'm just stating my opinion, freedom of speech and all that." She closed the journal. Maeda was still not here but it was really close to 7:30, so Nico sadly realized she could arrive at any moment.

Right after Nico sadly accepted her fate, Ms. Maeda stepped inside. It was a bit telling she searched for Nico among the students before doing anything else. _I bet this woman couldn't wait for this moment to happen._

The bell rang and it was time to begin today's class. Maeda started with discussing the previous lecture to see how many of her students remembered or took their time to study. Nico instinctively knew she was going to be her first victim. "Yazawa, do you remember when Kenkou Yoshida's Tsurezuregusa was finished?" Nico usually knew the answers to such questions but she didn't have the time to check her notes yesterday. And Maeda definitely knew that, that's why she asked her. "How about…1336?" Nico made a random guess. _It has to be around the early 1300s!_

Maeda stepped closer to her desk. "Unfortunately, the correct answer is 1332." Corrected Maeda, with a tiny smile of victory evident on her face. If there were looks that could kill, the expression on Nico's face right now would definitely be included among them.

* * *

The ring of the bell signaled the end of this class, much to Nico's delight. Sadly for her, she fully knew that while the class was over, her "happy times" with Maeda only just started. After the other students left the classroom, Nico slowly walked up to her desk and put her journal on it without saying a word. Nico was sure that if she'd say what she really wanted to right now, she would be expelled from school.

"Oh? What's this?" Maeda quickly opened the journal, clearly interested in it's contents. "Guess what, I started writing this stupid journal as you requested." For the first time today, Maeda looked at her with a sincere expression. "Thank you. Would you mind if I read it right now?" Nico thought Maeda would use this opportunity to make fun of her, but her question sounded sincere and devoid of any ulterior motives. "Don't expect anything great."

* * *

"Did I pass or was my choice of words not refined enough for your high tastes?" Nico really wanted to get this over with fast and finally do her skipped homework. "Well, I think your personal comments are unneccessary at some parts, but for the most part it's fine." Maeda closed the journal and gave it back to Nico. "Thanks. Can I go now?" Nico was ready to turn around when Maeda grabbed her arm. "Not so fast, I'd like to hear all the details about what happened."

Nico groaned. "Why does it matter to you?" Maeda stood up and began cleaning the chalkboard. "Because I'd like to know what you do when you're not in school." Nico groaned again, louder than before. "You aren't my mother, thank you very much." Nico was ready to turn around once again before Maeda stopped her from doing so…again. "I doubt principal Minami would be happy to hear you refuse to talk about your experiences with the teacher who is responsible for what you are doing as your club activity."

"Fine, I'll tell everything I can remember, to make sure principal Minami is happy. But it won't be the most exciting story ever."

* * *

"…and then I told her I was supposed to go, and for a moment I thought she looked sad."

Much to Nico's surprise, Ms. Maeda listened to her story interestedly. Since Nico didn't have much time until the start of her next class she left out some irrelevant details to shorten her story. "And…that was that. Then I went home and lived happily ever after."

"Maybe this Umi girl was actually sad to see you go." Nico considered that for a moment. "I doubt it, I mean, why would she miss me when she only knew me for like an hour? It's not like we became best friends or something." Perhaps Umi did miss her but Nico didn't realize why. "You see, people like her probably not have many friends. She spends all her time in that school and mostly interacts with the staff who helps her. And there are many rude kids who act hateful towards disabled people like her. With her condition, it must be really hard to find friends. And when you have little to no friends at all, you can get attached to the person whom you only knew for such a short period of time."

"Whatever. Why does it matter, anyways?" Nico looked at her watch. She only had 2 more minutes and really wanted Maeda to stop with her commentary. "You just say that because you have no friends, Nico." Maeda always had a way to rub it in to Nico. "And what do you care? I'm completely fine with how things are."

Maeda stood up and opened the door for Nico. "You should go now before you are late for your class. But consider this: Even if you are fine with your current situation right now, it doesn't mean you can't make things better."

"Yeah yeah, thanks for the tip, Ms. Maeda."

"Have a nice day, Nico."

* * *

"Sigh. Why do I have to do this again?" After classes finished, Nico headed for the bus station. Supposedly, she was to meet with the instructor at the special school at 14:30. She had roughly 45 minutes to get there, and without Maeda, she was confident she could make it.

Nico felt like she had better, more important things to do. Like doing her homework and practicing math. But no, instead of doing something relevant she had to go to this stupid school and play nurse with a bunch of disabled kids.

"I wonder what freak I get to babysit this time."

* * *

 _"Minami Kotori, 15 years old. Diagnosed with aphonia (muteness) at 3 years old._

 _Very sweet and friendly to most, but a bit afraid of loud people. Please refrain from_

 _angry outbursts while she is in your presence. Loves to draw and is exceptionally_

 _talented at it. Likes to read fashion magazines._

 _Her room is room 214 on the right wing, second floor."_

Sounds almost like an upgrade from the previous one. At least now Nico can talk normally, even if this girl probably communicates through writing and sign language like Umi did. "Minami? What an odd surname to see." Nico instantly thought of principal Minami but tossed the idea that the two were related. There are probably thousands of Minamis all across Japan, after all.

As per usual, Nico slowly and comfortably walked up to the second floor, reached room 214, and knocked on the door. When no answer came, she knocked again. And then again. She was patient since she knew she was dealing with a disabled person, but after the fifth knock she decided to enter. This girl was supposed to be sweet according to the note, so she doubted she would be angry.

Much to her surprise, there was no one in the room. She stood there for some minutes, thinking about the next course of action. She was still new to this school and only knew Umi and Kotori's locations. She could go back down and ask her instructor, but she was afraid he would be angry.

"Might as well check out her room while I wait for her to come back." Nico checked the small collection of books on the table. They were all textbooks about mathematics and chemistry. _She must've been studying before she left. Yuck._

Then, Nico checked the bigger collection of books and magazines on the shelves. The books were mostly your typical sappy teenage romance stories with some books about fashion here and there. _Wow, I haven't even seen her yet but I can already tell she is a very girly girl._

Aside from her petite frame and her preference for the colour pink, Nico was not all that girly. She was, in the distant past before some unfortunate things happened, but she changed. She was prone to dealing with problems by herself and didn't like asking others. To her, that was a sign of weakness and incompetence. When family went on small trips, Nico always showed off to her younger siblings with some cool (and dangerous) tricks while her mother was worried sick for her.

Nico inspected the furniture and decorations. Light pink and beige colours dominated. It was in stark contrast to Umi's light blue and white colours. Then she turned towards the other shelf which contained Kotori's magazines. Nothing surprising here, just several different fashion magazines. "There are all of the issues of the past four years of Nicola magazine in order. She must be a devoted fan. Strange that only September's issue is missing."

Her analysis of Kotori's room came to an end when someone stepped inside. Nico turned around to see a woman with the nurse's badge on her T-shirt. "Excuse me, but this room is private. Please leave." Nico found herself in an awkward situation once again. _Why is it always me?!_

"Umm…I'm a volunteer from Otonokizaka High School and I was told to look after Minami Kotori today, but I don't know where she is. Can you help me?" The nurse's expression changed immediatelly. "Oh, it's you! I was looking for you. Kotori is in the library right now. Come with me."

* * *

"Are you a new volunteer?" Their quiet walk to the library came to an end with this sudden question. "I am. Yesterday was my first day here." Nico noticed how the walls of the hallway lacked colour. Don't people usually decorate the walls of buildings like this with some clever and friendly art?

"So you have yet to explore the school?" Sigh. Why does this nurse ask so many questions? "Yeah. I didn't have much time to do that yesterday." The nurse slowed down her pace and Nico was sure they were getting close now. "Oh, I thought an instructor took you on a tour. They usually do that with new volunteers on their first day."

"Nope. I was assigned to look after a deaf girl." The nurse looked at Nico curiously. "What was her name? There are a lot of deaf girls and boys at this school." Nico decided that she really didn't like these walls. She didn't understand how they could be so cold and bland in such a school. "Sonoda Umi. She was nice."

"Oh, Umi. She is indeed a very nice girl. And she is best friends with Kotori. You might even meet her again since the two often hang out together in their free time." _Oh._ What a coincidence. Nico wondered how a deaf and a mute person communicate with each other. Probably with notes like she did with Umi. _Although it's a bit sad that neither can hear the voice of their best friend._

"Did you enjoy your time with Umi?" This woman really asked too many questions. And is the road to the library getting longer? "I did. She was a surprisingly mature person though." The nurse laughed. "Yeah, almost all of Umi's partners say that. You know, she was always like this, ever since she got here. She always tries to do things on her own and sometimes it's like she is the one helping her partners." _Funny, I actually wrote that in my journal._ "She really doesn't like it when she feels like her disability is limiting her, making her someone who needs help. She is stubborn in that matter."

"And what's Kotori like?" Nico supposed she might as well get some information about her before she actually meets her. "She is really sweet. Like an angel. Like Umi, she also tries to go beyond the boundaries set by her disability. Sometimes she gives her drawings to the staff members as a sign of her gratitude. She is very good at drawing. One time she gave me my portrait, it was so good I couldn't tell if I was looking at a mirror or a paper!"

"That sounds cool. I wonder if she'll draw me one day as well." A portrait would be pretty cool. She could show off to her siblings with it. "Maybe she'll do it. If you'd like to see mine I can show it to you sometime." The nurse looked at her again with a wink. She didn't seem as annoying now.

"Alright, we are here. Let's go say hi to Kotori." The nurse entered the library cheerfully, with Nico following behind her.

The nurse spotted Kotori and said her name loudly. "Kotori! Your new partner is here!" Nico didn't know which one out of the many girls sitting at the tables was Kotori, but she quickly found out when only one of them looked up after the nurse called her name. She had very long, light brown hair and warm brown eyes. The way she happily looked at Nico upon hearing she was her partner warmed Nico's heart. _I really got lucky with these two girls._

The two walked closer to the table Kotori was sitting at, and the nurse waved goodbye after introducing them to eachother. Kotori motioned Nico to sit down and Nico did as told. Just like Umi, Kotori started with scribbling something, probably her very first sentence to Nico, on a small piece of paper. After she was finished, she gave the paper with the writing to Nico. _"I'm Kotori! Nice to meet you!"_ She also drew a small heart at the end of her sentence. _"I'm Nico."_

 _"Can you understand sign language?"_ _No, but it seems like it would be a good idea to learn it,_ Nico thought. _"Not yet, but I plan to learn it sometime."_ Kotori read her note, not minding that Nico couldn't use sign language. Yesterday after she said goodbye to Umi, Nico actually wondered if Umi was just very patient and the other students would be angry if their partner couldn't communicate with them with it. _"No problem! We can just write to each other instead!"_

 _"Sure. I hope you don't mind."_ After Kotori wrote her reply, she put her hand on Nico's arm reassuringly. _"Not at all, don't worry! Let's start with getting to know each other. Tell me something about you."_ Nico was bad at writing about herself. To most people writing about themselves was hard because they were either too biased or too harsh on themselves. Nico was the latter.

 _"Well, my name is Yazawa Nico and I live with my mother and my three siblings. My favourite subjects are history, literature and geography. I hate math, physics and chemistry. My favourite colour is pink and I love cats."_

That was about everything Nico could think of right now. Kotori read her answer slowly and carefully, obviously enjoying Nico's company.

 _"Wow, you have three siblings?! That sounds fun! And I like pink as well!" The latter was rather obvious to tell,_ Nico thought to herself. _"Yeah, one baby boy and two girls. They are really cute but they can surely get on my nerves sometimes. The boy is called Kotarou and the two girls are Kokoa and Kokoro."_

 _"That sounds so cute! I wish I had a little sibling to take care of! Do you play with them often?"_ Nico tried to, but on some days she was simply too tired to do anything other than dinner and washing their clothes. _"I usually do but sometimes I don't have enough time. It's only the two youngest who still play games like peek-a-boo or guess what I drew, the oldest one prefers more mature games like chess or scrabble. She is more mature than others her age."_

While Nico had her initial doubts, she was now sure that communicating through writing wasn't that much worse than talking. Words and non-verbal signs can show a lot of emotions as well. _"I bet she looks just like you, mature and all that!"_ Actually, all of them did. Black hair and reddish brown eyes (Nico's was the most red, almost as if it was actually red like a devils) were very common in her family. _"Yes she does. Come to think of it, if you had a sibling would you want a boy or a girl?"_

Kotori thought about the question a bit before writing down the answer. _"A girl! It would be fun to do girly things with her and make dresses for her."_ Nico wasn's surprised about this answer. _"Wait, you can make dresses?"_ Kotori nodded. " _Yeah! I don't really like cooking so I make dresses in home economics class! And because of my good behaviour the teacher lets me use the room in the afternoon as well. It's really fun. You should try it with me sometime."_ Another small heart at the end of the sentence. _"That sounds interesting. Maybe I will try it."_

Kotori was thinking about what to ask, what to say next. It wasn't like they didn't feel comfortable around each other, they were just new to the other and people tend to act awkwardly when they first meet. _"What school do you go to?"_ The inevitable question. Nico often wondered why people asked this all the time. It wasn't like school was an interesting topic to teenagers. _"Otonokizaka High School. It's pretty…standard."_ Kotori was surprised after reading the note, and Nico was sure that if she wasn't mute she could hear her gasp. _"Otonoki? So you know my mom, right?!"_

Her mom? She knew no such person…Wait. Was Kotori actually related to principal Minami? Nico had noticed how similar Kotori looked to principal Minami but she thought she was just seeing things. _"Do you mean the principal? She is your mom?!"_ Kotori was writing more faster than usual. Looks like Nico managed to enter an exciting topic for her. _"Yep! And she is the best mother ever!"_

 _"Well, the students often say she is very nice. I can tell where you got your kindness from."_ Kotori blushed. _She is cute. "It's very nice of you to say that, thank you. But let's go back to the original topic, I'm sure you aren't here to talk about your principal, haha."_ Nico was thinking of what else they should talk about. Of course there were many things, but sometimes choosing from the many is harder than having no idea. Before she could think of anything she stopped to look towards where Kotori was looking. She noticed that Kotori was looking to the side instead of at her like she usually did. For what reason, Nico quickly found out: In the far end of the library she could see the figure of Umi walking closer to them. When she noticed Nico she smiled at her.

Umi waved hi to Nico then turned towards Kotori and did the same. Then the two talked about something in sign language so Nico couldn't understand. She noticed that Umi was holding Nicola magazine's september issue. After a minute Kotori turned back to Nico. _"Sorry about that. Umi just came to give me back the magazine she borrowed last week."_ Then it was Umi's turn to give her a note. _"It's nice to see you again, Nico. Are you looking after Kotori?"_ Nico nodded.

 _"I think I'll go back to my room now. See you soon, Nico."_ Before Umi could actually leave Kotori grabbed her arm and motioned her to sit down. _"Why not join us, Umi? I'm sure Nico doesn't mind."_

* * *

The trio spent the next hour "talking" to each other about various things. Nico felt strange. She has spent hours worth of days with her classmates thanks to group projects and whatnot but she never felt as good around them as she did with Kotori and Umi. The only thing that bothered her was her lack of understanding of the sign language. She imagined it would be more fun to communicate with them that way and it would be more convenient for them as well. She has to learn sign language soon, otherwise the school will run out of paper.

Kotori noticed Nico was not paying attention right now. _"Are you okay, Nico?"_ Umi looked at her worriedly as well. _"Should we change topic?"_ Nico shook her head. _"I'm fine, I was just thinking about how to learn sign language. It would be more fun to talk to you guys that way."_

Kotori's eyes lit up. _"The two of us can teach it to you if you want to!"_ Umi nodded. _"Yeah, I'd gladly help. Trust me, it's not that difficult."_ Nico was taken aback by this sudden act of kindness. She wasn't used to receiving such treatment, except when her younger siblings drew her something nice to make her happy. But since she had no friends, she was never invited anywhere, never asked if she was alright and no one ever offered to help her with something. It felt nice.

 _"That would be cool! But are you sure it won't be bothersome for you two?"_ The two shook their heads. _"Not at all! I bet it's going to be fun!"_

Sadly their talk at the library was discontinued when the librarian told them there was going to be a special lecture soon and they needed to prepare. The three decided to continue their conversation in Kotori's room.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent with talking about many things, making jokes and many other fun things. Kotori showed Nico some of her drawings; they were indeed breathtaking. Sometimes Kotori or Nico would make an "unrefined" joke, as Ms. Maeda would say, and Umi went completely red while making weird shapes with her hands. According to Kotori, they meant "shameless" in sign language.

Nico really enjoyed today, even more than the previous day. She hoped things would get only better from now on. Kotori and Umi were really nice girls and there was nothing different about them other than their lack of hearing and speaking.

At 18:15 the instructor entered Kotori's room and told Nico that her work for today is done. Nico had so much fun that she didn't notice the time. Apparently she worked 15 minutes more than neccessary. But if Nico had the option (which she didn't have, since she had to go home and take care of her siblings), she would stay for a bit more.

Kotori actually asked her is she wanted to stay but sadly Nico had to refuse. Kotori was a bit sad but she understood Nico had responsibilities. _"Goodbye guys, see you two soon!"_ Nico said using the sign language. This was one of the first sentences the two taught her. _"Goodbye Nico! See you tomorrow!"_ The two waved her goodbye.

Tomorrow was Saturday, and since there was no "normal school" she could spend most of the day at the special school, hopefully with Kotori and Umi. The Nico of two days ago would be absolutely furious to hear she was obligated to work even during the weekend, but now she wasn't as angry about it. In a way, she actually looked forward to it.

Nico was slowly starting to change.

* * *

Minami Kotori was one of the sweetest people she has ever met. She was like an eternal source of sunshine. If she was told to stand among a group of vein-cutting emos, they would change into the happiest people in the world in seconds.

Sonoda Umi was a serious, mature person. Definitely more mature than the classmates who cared more about drinking and partying, and even more mature than the adults who spent entire days at a bar. She would do anything, complete any task without asking for help, and without fail.

The two were so different but also similar. In some ways they were complete opposites, but at the same time both were nice and supportive people who broke the limits their problems set for them.

These two people were nicer than almost everyone else Nico has ever met, yet she called them freaks in an angry moment. Nico was a bit hotheaded sometimes, but she promised herself she would not make the same mistake twice.

 _"September 16 – My second day_

 _I went to the school again. This time I went without Ms. Maeda, that's probably why I caught the bus and got there on time. Today my job was to look after a mute girl. Her name was Kotori Minami, she is the principal's daughter. The two really look alike and it was obvious from Kotori's words that she loved her mother. I had to meet her at the library but since I didn't know where it was one of the nurses guided me there. She was a bit nosy and never stopped asking questions but she was nice. In the library I finally met Kotori and we started talking. After about 20 minutes or so the girl I looked after the day before, Umi, approached us. She and Kotori are best friends even though they are very different in many aspects. What they share though is their friendliness and this sense of comfort you can feel when you are around them. After the librarian told us to leave (not because we weren't nice!) we went to Kotori's room and continued having fun for hours. It was so fun that I didn't even notice I was already over my working time."_

Nico wondered if she should change some things or add more details, but decided her journal entry for today was fine as it was. She closed the journal's cover and put it on her desk, then went back to her bed and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

 **All done! Which girl Nico will meet next time? Find out in chapter 4! (Much excite)**

 **There were some questions in the reviews so why not answer them?**

 **When Umi said "you didn't knock" she was making a joke. Nico is a goofball so she didn't notice.**

 **Everyone is 15 in the story except for Rin, Hanayo and Maki (and the adults of course), they are 13.**

 **Reviews and criticism is welcome!**


	4. Chapter 4

"So?"

"…" Nico gulped. "Well, your writing is fine but the part including me is really unneccessary."

Nico was standing right next to Ms. Maeda's desk. Her morning wasn't as chaotic as it was yesterday and her siblings didn't raise a ruckus either, so she managed to get to school comfortably. She actually made it to the classroom very early, so she could show her journal to Ms. Maeda, who was surprisingly already there. Almost as if she was waiting for Nico.

This morning, Nico woke up to a text message from Maeda. She didn't remember ever giving her teacher her contacts, but she probably found it in the student database. The message said Nico was to meet Maeda this morning so she could read her journal. Since it was Saturday Nico really wasn't happy about this idea, and she was sure reading her entry was not that urgent. Maeda just wanted to mess with her again. _Sigh._

"…I see. Then I'll erase that part…" Nico was a firm believer of freedom of speech and really didn't want to rewrite her entry just because her teacher said so, but that angry expression on Ms. Maeda's face was a bit concerning…

"Good. You may go now. You have work to do today as well, is that correct?" After handing the journal back to Nico, Maeda went back to correcting the tests Nico's class wrote about a week ago. "Are those our tests?" Nico asked, interested. "Yeah. The average results aren't bad so far." Nico watched as the teacher marked the correct answer with her red pen. Her hands worked so fast it was almost impossible to also read the answers at the same time. Do teachers always correct tests like that? Do they even read what we wrote? "How is mine? I think I did pretty good."

Maeda stopped to turn towards Nico, and poked her nose. "It's a secret. You'll find out on Monday." With that, she turned back to the tests in front of her. "Geez, you are no fun. Anyways, can I go now? I don't want to be late." Nico wondered what type of girl she was going to look after today. The first one was deaf, the second was mute, so it would make sense if the third was blind, right?

"Sure. Have fun today." Maeda stood up and opened the door for Nico. "And don't forget to write your journal…optimally without petty insults directed at me." She said the latter half with a tone that worried Nico. "Okay…See you on Monday, Ms. Maeda!" The two waved each other goodbye and Nico rushed down the stairs. In the past two weeks Nico has been doing nothing but running up and down stairs so it almost felt like the normal thing to do now.

* * *

"Sorry miss, the instructor had something important to do. You can find him on the left wing."

If you thought Nico's day would be spent without any problems, you were wrong. This time around, upon her arrival the janitor told her her instructor couldn't meet with her at the entrance like they usually did. "Urgent matter" or something. "And which floor?" The janitor went back to his desk to check a note or something, but after not finding the needed information, he turned back to Nico. "Sorry miss, I don't know. But the left wing is not as maze-like as the right wing, so you should find him easily." With a sigh, Nico picked up her bag she left at the desk. "I see. Thank you for your help, sir." The janitor sit down at his chair. "Have a nice day, miss."

Nico explored the first floor of the left wing but didn't find the instructor. She noticed how the walls lacked colour and warmth on this wing as well. _Someone really should take the time to paint something here._

She slowly reached the staircase at the end of the hallway, where a "Caution: Wet Floor" sign welcomed her. Good thing she read it, otherwise she was sure she would've slipped easily, knowing her luck. But what happens when a student can't read it, like a blind person? Sure, they usually had partners or nurses watching their every move, but it's not like the disabled students never "escaped" from their caretakers to experience some freedom. Umi and Kotori told her some interesting stories.

With caution, Nico slowly walked up the stairs, watching her every step. Good thing she didn't run up the stairs like she always did. Upon reaching the second floor, she was welcomed with the sight of wet floor, glimmering from all the fresh water. _It's almost like an entire cleaning brigade was here._

The floor was wet and slippery from beginning to end. Not really safe for this school's students. As she slowly checked the rooms and every corner for the instructor, she thought about Kotori and Umi. What are they doing right now? If she remembered correctly, they should still be sleeping right now. They told her first classes began at 9:00 unlike in normal schools, where classes began at 7:30. _Being a disabled student might not be so bad, eh?_

What are their classes like, anyways? According to Kotori the students of this school have the same subjects as normal students, minus the subjects that are not compatible with certain conditions. A paralyzed person doesn't have P.E. or a blind person doesn't have to learn cooking, for example. Nico assumed that while the subjects were the same, the level of difficulty would be different. Teachers at normal schools don't really care about a student's individual needs, instead they teach the same to everyone regardless of talent. In this school, the teachers have to adapt to every student's individual needs, probably.

Perhaps she should ask about this from Umi or Kotori next time.

Nico reached a section of the hallway where she could choose to continue going straight or taking a turn to the right. Honestly, Nico had no idea where to find this instructor of hers, so what option she chose didn't matter. However, instead of choosing a side she went to an open window to breath in some fresh air. The view of the school's yard with the running track and the football field from up here was spectacular. She could tell the school had a lot of funds to spend; the entire building looked much more modern and welcoming than her school did, minus the white walls on the hallway.

The school's yard combined with the sports fields was almost as big in area as Nico's entire school. _The students must really enjoy their time here._ Nico was sure she would enjoy every moment. With a running track so big, she might even get in the mood to run a few laps.

Nico heard rapid footsteps coming from behind her. Almost like running. She was too charmed with the view to care, however, so she ignored it completely.

"Rin, stop right now!" Came a loud and worried shout from behind her. Nico turned around slowly and saw an orange haired girl running towards her with full speed, with a worried and tired nurse following behind her. "I can't stop, the floor is too slippery!" The girl cried out before crashing into Nico with full force. "Watch out!" The nurse and the girl cried out at the same time, but it was too late. Like a feather with no weight, Nico flew out the window.

The next thing Nico remembers is her lying on the grass, staring at the window she fell out from. She could see the nurse from before saying something to her with a worried expression on her face, but Nico felt dizzy and didn't hear what she said. It wasn't the first time Nico had a spectacular fall like this, so she knew what to do. Collecting her strength, she tried to move to check if her spine or her limbs were broken. Her limbs hurt, but thankfully she could tell nothing was broken.

Losing her strength, Nico lied back on the grass. It was comfortable to rest on in a way, although it wasn't in Nico's plans. The events that followed were even more surreal. Pushing the nurse away from the window, the orange haired girl jumped out and landed right next to Nico. Nico almost had a heart attack but the girl was not worried about herself at all. Instead, she quickly stood up and turned to Nico. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?! Can you stand?!" This strange girl was talking so fast and mixed with Nico's dizziness, she could barely make out what the girl was saying.

"I'm…I'm fine, I just hit my head a bit." The girl offered her hand. "Here, grab my hand." Nico did as told and she slowly managed to stand up. The girl continued muttering apologies to her while Nico tried to keep her balance. _Damn, my head is spinning like a carousel."_

After some minutes the nurse made her way towards them. _"_ Are you okay?! We should get you to the infirmary!" Gathering her thoughts, Nico spoke up. "I'm fine, there is no need. I'm just a bit dizzy." The nurse then turned towards Rin with a furious expression. "Rin, what did you do again?! Didn't I tell you not to run on the hallway! It's too dangerous!"

"The teachers didn't allow me to use the running track since it was too early! I just wanted to run around, I had no idea the floor was so slippery today!" The nurse pinched her cheek. "That still doesn't mean you can run around inside the building, Rin."

The three started walking back to the building. After a few steps, Nico lost balance and almost fell. Thankfully the nurse grabbed her arm and prevented her from falling in time. "Your balance is off, you might've suffered brain concussion." Nico groaned, the entire situation was so weird. "Yeah yeah, I know, Ms. Maeda."

Rin and the nurse looked at each other with a confused expression. "Who is Ms. Maeda?" The nurse sighed and put her hand on Nico's head. "You definitely hit your head pretty hard." Rin giggled. "You are like one of those people from the movies who mutter random things in their dreams!" The nurse pinched her cheek again. "Rin, this is not funny at all. You should apologize."

"But I already did!" The nurse looked at her with a dangerous expression. She reminded Nico of Ms. Maeda. "Alright, fine, I'll do it again! I'm sorry, umm…what's your name?" Nico's mind was a bit clearer now. "I'm Nico, a pleasure to meet you." Said Nico with as much sarcasm as possible. However, Rin didn't seem to notice that. "Nico is a cool name! I'm Rin!" _Yeah, I heard someone shouting that name a few times already._

The three walked through the hallway silently. Nico didn't feel like talking to these two weirdos, the nurse was too worried about her condition to chat, and Rin obviously didn't like the silence. "So can I use the running field after lunch?" The nurse shook her head. "After your behaviour today, I'll make sure you won't have to use it as punishment." Rin looked at her with puppy eyes. "Come on, it's not my fault my partner didn't come and I was bored!"

"Your partner was probably busy and it still doesn't excuse endangering the safety of other people." The nurse looked at her watch. "Rin, can you please go forward and check if the infirmary is open? It's still early so the doctor might not be here yet." Without an answer, Rin was already running towards the infirmary.

Nico only noticed right now that this girl had two prosthetic legs. _Oh, that explains why she didn't break a leg after jumping out the window like a madman._ Nico was a bit surprised prosthetics were already…this advanced. She never would've imagined they can be used to run around like a healthy person. Sure, she heard about famous sprinters who had prosthetic legs, but she thought those prosthetics were expensive and only rich people like famous sportsmen could afford them.

After two minutes Rin returned. _Wow, that was quite fast._ "The doctor is here!"

* * *

"What happened?" Nico was lying on an infirmary bed. The doctor slowly poked her body everywhere to check her reflexes. Before Nico could answer, the nurse spoke up. "Rin ran into her by accident and she…fell from the second floor." The doctor looked at her with a surprised expression. He probably wondered how such thing was possible but chose not to push this matter any further. "Ms. Yazawa is quite lucky then. She could've broken a leg or an arm if she wasn't lucky."

Nico groaned. "So what's the diagnosis, doctor?" The doctor went back to his desk and scribbled something on a paper. "Well, after checking you it seems like you've suffered brain concussion, but it's not severe. You can continue your activity but do avoid tiring physical work and be sure to tell someone if you aren't feeling well."

"And is she going to be fine?" Rin asked, worried. "She will be fine, the dizziness and other symptoms should wear off in a couple of hours." Nico slowly got off the bed. "Thank you for your help, doctor."

The trio left the infirmary. Nico said goodybe quickly and started walking towards the end of the hallway. "Where are you going?" Came the question from the nurse. Nico turned back, annoyed. "I was supposed to find my instructor before I flew out the window and hit my head. I'm at the very least 30 minutes late." Rin ran up to Nico and grabbed her hand. "I can look for him with you if you want to!" _No I really don't,_ Nico thought, but she didn't say it out loud, of course.

"Yeah, the doctor said the symptoms only wear off after a couple more hours, so it's best if we accompany you." Nico sighed. "Fine."

* * *

"Ms. Yazawa, you are a bit late." She finally managed to find the instructor in an office on the third floor. "I'm sorry, I couldn't get here sooner because I ran into some…problems." _Or it's more like the problem ran into me,_ thought Nico while looking at Rin. One of the nurses entered the room. "It's the company calling." The instructor sighed. "Tell them to call me back in fifteen minutes."

"What's the matter? The entire staff was acting to hectically today." Asked the nurse. "Well, the company responsible for the school's hygiene decided to clean up the left wing without consulting the staff. They didn't even consider the accidents the wet floor could cause! There are students here who can't see the signs, for god's sake!"

The instructor looked at Nico now. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I know we were supposed to meet at the entrance but Mr. Takahashi called me to go to his office immediately. We were discussing how to prevent accidents from happening until now." _You're too late, mister._

"But anyways, looks like you still managed to find your partner, so there's no problem." Rin and Nico looked at each other, confused. "My partner? What do you mean?" The instructor laughed. "You mean you didn't know Rin was your assigned partner today? What a coincidence!" Nico forced out a smile. "That reminds me, how did you two meet?" The two girls looked at each other in horror. Should they tell the truth?

Before either of them had to answer, the nurse saved the situation. "Me and Rin were discussing something when Nico approached us to ask where to find the instructor." _Yeah, that's exactly what happened._

"I see. Well then, you may leave. I assume you don't need the information note, since you already met Rin?" Nico shook her head. What she knew about this weird girl was already more than enough. "Oh, just one important detail. She is only thirteen, a bit younger than you, so please bare with her childish tendencies." The instructor winked at them playfully. "I'm not childish!" Rin retorted.

* * *

"I'll leave you two alone now. I have to go back to my office. Rin, make sure to look after Nico so she wouldn't faint, okay?" Rin giggled. "Shouldn't she be looking after me?" Nico didn't really find it that hilarious. Rin might have prosthetic legs, but she didn't fall from the second floor after some hyperactive brat crashed into her.

The nurse pat Rin on the head, then left. She turned towards Nico. "What do you want to do now?" Nico honestly wanted to answer "throw you out the window" but she decided against it. "I dunno. Go to the running track, I guess?" Rin's face lit up, then went back to a sad expression. "That'd be cool, but the nurse said I can't go there today." _But the nurse is not here to watch you now._ "Who cares about what she says? She isn't there to scold us."

"Then let's get going!" Without waiting for her answer, Rin grabbed her arm and the two ran down the hallway. _I swear this girl will be the death of me._

* * *

"Alrighty, we are here!" Rin exclaimed cheerfully. Nico looked around. The running field looked even bigger now. She doubted she could finish even a single lap, it was that huge. "How about a race?" Rin proposed. "Sorry, I'm not in the mood right now. I think I'll just sit down and enjoy the view for now." Rin pouted, but she understood. "Okay, can you count how many laps I do then? And how fast I finish one lap?" Nico nodded.

Rin started running slower, then sped up. In half a minute she was running so fast it was hard for the eyes to follow her. _Okay maybe that's a bit exaggerating._ Rin ran around in circles over and over again with the same determined expression. Her short orange hair was waving in the wind, and she reminded Nico of those professional sprinters at the Olympics.

 _Just how much energy does this girl have?!_

Nico was fairly sure she would never be as fast as this odd girl. While her opinion on her could've been more negative at the start (and rightfully so), she started warming up to her a bit now. While her energetic behaviour was a bit too much for her to keep up with sometimes, she admired her posivite thinking and innocence.

In a way, Rin reminded her of Kotori and Umi, although the latter two were more relaxed. All three of them shared this determination Nico couldn't really understand. Rin had prosthetics instead of real, flesh and blood legs yet she was the fastest runner Nico has ever seen. Kotori was mute yet she managed to be so sweet just with her gestures, hearing her voice was not needed at all. Umi was deaf, yet she was more independent than most girls her age.

All three of them had the desire to go beyond their boundaries. Nico admired that, a bit.

Rin finished her 10th lap now. Before continuing, she walked towards Nico. "Are you feeling better?" She was sweating from head to toe yet she wasn't tired at all. "Yeah, I'm much better now." Rin looked at the grass with a sad expression. "I'm really sorry for running into you." Nico stood up from the bench and started walking towards the track. Rin looked at her, confused. "What are you doing?"

Nico looked back at her with a smile. "What do you think? I'm joining you. Let's see which one of us is faster." Rin's sour mood was gone the second Nico finished her sentence. She cheerfully stood next to Nico, ready to begin. "Just letting you know, I'm a pretty fast runner." Nico said with a cocky smile, although inside she knew this was going to be a disaster.

* * *

It was a disaster, alright. Nico somehow managed to keep up with her during the first lap, but Rin was ahead of her by half a lap after the second lap. Nico was getting tired with each second. She was sweating more than a teenage boy in a sauna, and she could feel her legs getting slower and slower. Rin however, was not tired at all. Combined with her previous laps without Nico, she has completed 13 laps so far. Nico has just finished her third one, and she was already close to dying.

"I…really…should…exercise…more…" The 4th lap has just begun. Nico decided she'll finish it even if she dies. Rin finally noticed Nico's not so good condition and slowed down so she could catch up to her. "Are you okay?" _No I'm not._ "I'll finish this lap but it'll be my last." Rin ran in front of her and turned towards her. "But you did have fun, right?"

Nico thought about that a bit. While she was dead tired and wanted to stop, this small exercise did feel refreshing to her. Even if she suffered brain concussion two hours earlier. "I guess it was fun."

Rin smiled. "I told you it would be!" Rin turned towards the finish line's direction. "It's only a few more meters, how about a final race to the finish line?" Nico groaned. Why the heck not. "Okay, let's do it!"

Needless to say Nico lost, but at least she completed four laps. Rin "only" did ten more but she was more athletic, anyways. "That felt so good!" Rin stretched her arms. "Yeah." After stretching she turned towards Nico. "If you want to, we can always run some laps around the race track during the weekend." Rin offered with a sheepish smile, expecting Nico to reject her.

Normally Nico would've rejected this offer easily, but not this time. If she rejected every idea people offer her, it's no wonder she had no friends and spent her free time at home. "That sounds like a good idea." Rin processed the answer a bit, making sure she heard that right. Nico did the same. Did she really just agree to run laps with this hyperactive girl?

"Yay! Rin'll finally have a running partner now!" They walked back to the bench so they could grab their bags. "Wait, you mean you usually use the running track alone? Where are the others?" The two girls slowly walked to the entrance door. "Sometimes I ask others to run with me but usually I'm alone since everyone hates running in the morning except me. And well…I think my friends didn't like that I was so much faster than them." Nico found that a bit sad. Rin looked like the type of girl who wouldn't survive without company. "Well, starting from today you'll have me as company."

"The best company ever!" Rin exclaimed, hugging Nico quickly before she could protest. "Yeah yeah. Where should we go now?" Rin grabbed her hand again and started leading the way. "Duh, the showers of course!" Nico said nothing and let her lead the way until she remembered Rin had prosthetics. "Wait, you can shower with the prosthetics on?"

"Yeah, my legs are waterproof. They are super-legs!" _They must be really expensive,_ Nico thought.

* * *

"Here we are!" Rin opened the door to the showers. Much to Nico's surprise, the equipment was all-new and as clean as possible. The ones at her school were rusty and disgusting, she hated to use them.

Inside they could already hear the water running somewhere. _I guess we've got company._

They put down their bags at the bench and Rin started undressing. She noticed Nico was just standing there. "What's the matter? Do you want to shower in your clothes?" Nico blushed. "I umm…I thought I'd let you go in first, I'll undress after." Rin stared at her with a mischievous grin. "Oh, Nico is shy?" Rin stepped closer to her. "Well, I'm not used to undressing in front of other teens!"

"What do you do around your friends, then?" _Sadly I don't have friends,_ Nico thought to herself. "It's none of your business!" Rin laughed. "You shouldn't be shy around me Nico, I won't make fun of you!" With that, she stepped inside the shower. Nico stood there for a minute to make sure Rin wouldn't pull a prank on her (she looked like the type to do that), then started undressing herself.

The water was pleasantly warm and felt good on Nico's skin. A shower felt really nice after the events of today. And it was only around eleven, she still had many hours to spend until six. These past three hours were rather eventful with Rin around, she could only wonder how they'll spend the remaining time. Nico grabbed the soap. It smelled like vanilla, Nico's favourite scent.

After 20 minutes of showering, Nico stepped outside. Rin finished just a minute earlier than her. "Man, that felt so good!" Nico said to herself. "Hey Nico, look over here!" Rin said, and Nico did as told. Rin was holding a big cockroach in her hands. "Get that away from my vicinity right now!" Nico cried out, but Rin didn't listen. She stepped closer and closer to Nico until the cockroach was right in her face. "Nico is afraid of bugs!" Rin shouted as she dropped the cockroach on Nico's arm.

Nico was screaming like someone who was being stabbed in the abdomen, trying to get the disgusting insect off her arm, while Rin was laughing at the scene like a maniac. "Screw you, Rin!" Nico gathered her courage to grab the cockroach and threw it back at Rin. Sadly she managed to avoid it in time. "You should've seen your face, haha!"

"I swear the next time you do something like that I'll drop a can of worms on your head!" Nico said menacingly, although she was laughing now as well. "Hey Nico, are you that afraid of bugs?" Nico brushed her hair, making sure there are no tufts. "Not really, I'm usually the one to kill the invading bugs at our home but cockroaches are just so disgusting." Since Rin's hair was shorter, hers was already close to drying. "I'm not afraid of any bugs, sometimes when we go to the forest I like to collect them in a jar and show them to the Biology teacher!" _What the fuck,_ is all Nico could think of that. "Sounds like an interesting hobby."

"My my, what's going on out there?" Suddenly, a girl stepped out the shower. She had very long purple hair. It was the same girl Nico saw on her first day, but this time around her friend wasn't with her. It's just that…there was no towel covering her body.

"Umm…hello?" Nico honestly didn't know what to say. The strange girl smiled at her. "What were you two girls doing?" Rin turned towards her with a smile, not even bothered by her naked form. "I was just pulling a prank! I threw a cockroach at her, you should've seen her face!" The purple haired girl chuckled. "That sounds fun, maybe I should join next time."

"Yeah! What's your name?" Nico thought the entire scene was surreal. "I'm Tojo Nozomi, nice meeting you." Something about the way she handled everything so casually was weird to Nico. "I'm Hoshizora Rin!" Nozomi turned towards Nico. "Shouldn't you…grab a towel?"

The girl chuckled. "Don't worry about it." _What._ "What's your name?" The water was no longer running and the entire room was silent. "I'm Nico. Yazawa Nico." Nozomi finally grabbed a towel and started wiping her enourmous hair. "I remember seeing you at the lecture three days ago, are you a volunteer as well?" The girl asked. "Yeah. I remember you as well, you were with a blonde girl, weren't you?" Nozomi nodded. "Yeah, but she couldn't come today. Student council president Sato asked her to help her out today."

"Sato? You mean Hiromi Sato? You two go to Otonoki?" Nozomi chuckled again. "Oh, it seems like the three of us were always near but we never talked to you before." Rin poked Nico's arm suddenly. "Nico, the dining hall is open now and I'm sooo hungry!" Nozomi was finally fully dressed. "I don't want to keep you two up any further. Besides, I know we will meet again."

"You know?" Nozomi pulled a card out of her pockets. "The cards told me our fates have been intertwined." Nico stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. "Wait, what?" Nozomi gave her a mysterious giggle, for the third time today. "It's nothing. It was nice meeting you."

The two said their goodbyes to Nozomi and stormed out of the room. Or to be more accurate, Rin stormed out while she was holding onto Nico's hand, who had no choice but to follow her. Nico was still processing the conversation with Nozomi. After gathering her final thoughts, she spoke up.

"Rin…I think this Nozomi is an even bigger weirdo than you are."

Rin stared at her, confused.

* * *

The dining hall was just as spectacular as the other rooms. It was almost twice as big as the one at Nico's school. As always, very bright colours dominated, although the walls were painted a white-ish yellow instead of being completely white.

After a few minutes of waiting in line, Rin returned with two plates in her hand. "Let's eat!" The two began munching on the delicious food, enjoying every bite. _Although it's still not as good as my cooking._

The meal for today was mashed potatoes with a large piece of roasted beef meat. To complete a meal there was a small pool of tartar sauce right next to the potatoes. "Man, I can never get enough of this food! It's so good!" Rin quickly ate all of it, clearly enjoying the taste. "It's pretty good, but my cooking is better." Nico said matter of factly.

"You can cook?" Rin asked. "Yep. I might've lied when I said I was a fast runner but I ain't lying about my cooking skills." Rin's eyes lit up. "Can I taste your cooking someday? Please?" She was looking at Nico with puppy eyes that cannot be rejected. "Yeah, fine." Nico turned back to her unfinished meal. "What foods do you like?"

"I can eat anything except fish! Fish is disgusting, yuck!" Rin made a very disgusted face. _Strange,_ Nico thought. Some of Rin's behaviour reminded her of a cat, so it was surprising to hear she disliked fish out of all things. "Oh, something with rice is also good, my best friend loves rice very much!"

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" All of a sudden, a girl with ginger hair sat down at their table. Not even bothered by Nico, a stranger, she invaded their conversation just like that. "Hey, Honoka! Guess what, I found a new friend!" Rin told the ginger girl. The girl, Honoka, turned towards Nico. "Oh sorry, my name's Kousaka Honoka! Nice to meet you!" She quickly gave Nico a hug out of the blue and then began eating her food. "What's your name?"

"Nico." If Nico thought the day couldn't get any stranger, she was wrong. "That's a nice name! What were you two talking about?" She directed her question at the both of them. Rin answered her, telling her about the events of the day from start to finish, but much to Nico's surprise, Honoka wasn't really paying attention. "Sorry, can you tell me again?" Rin did as told, not bothered by Honoka's seemingly rude behaviour. "Oh! Man, did you really make her fall from the second floor? That sounds just like you, Rin!" The two laughed.

"What's with all the noise?" Came the voice of a girl Nico knew very well. It was the nurse who helped her yesterday, with Kotori and Umi following behind her. "Nothing, we were just talking about a funny story!" _It's not a funny story to me, though,_ Nico noted.

"A funny story, huh? Care to tell us the details as well?"

* * *

Right now there were five people sitting at the table. Everyone laughed after hearing Rin and Nico's story, although Nico didn't find it nowhere as funny. "What about you, Nico? Are you enjoying your time here so far?" Came the sudden question from the nurse, and all the girls looked at her expectantly. "I do, I just wish I didn't have to write that stupid journal."

The girls looked at each other, interested. "A journal? Why?" Nico sighed. "My stupid teacher wants me to write a journal about my experiences here." Rin turned towards her. "Can we see it?" _Why not,_ Nico thought. She didn't write anything bad about the girls. "Sure, but there are only two entries so far, and they aren't the most exciting." Nico handed the journal over to Honoka since she was sitting the closest to her. Honoka stared at the journal's cover with dread in her eyes, but didn't open it.

"I…I think I'll read it later." With that, she passed the journal over to the person sitting next to her, Umi. Honestly, Nico found that a bit rude. If she wasn't interested, why the hell did she have to act like she did? She absolutely hated people who acted like this. "Screw you, then." She muttered under her breath, not as silently as she hoped to since both the nurse and Honoka heard it. Honoka looked at her with a sad expression for a second before looking the other way.

"I'll go now, the teacher said I can use the basketball field today!" Said Honoka cheerfully, although it sounded a bit forced to Nico. They all said goodbye to her, and Honoka left. The following minute was spent in awkward silence.

"Why is she so rude? No matter what I said to her she didn't care at all." Nico finally broke the silence. The nurse looked at her with sad eyes. "You see, Honoka has ADHD and she is also dyslexic."

 _Oh._ The revelation hit Nico like a boulder (or like Rin hours before). So that's why she had trouble paying attention. That's why she didn't want to read my journal…

"I'm an idiot, aren't I?" Nico said with a big sigh. "I should apologize to her." The nurse put her hand on her arm. "It's not your fault. People always assume she is just annoying or rude because of her behaviour, but when you get to know her, she is very nice."

"I still screwed it up."

* * *

After they finished lunch, Kotori invited them to play some board games in her room. Currently, Umi, Kotori, Rin and Nico were sitting on her bed, playing Uno. These hours were spent with laughing, anger (when someone lost), thinking (when the game required it) and for Nico, forgetting about the incident with Honoka earlier.

Out of the four girls, Umi was the worst at card games. "Poker face" was a concept unknown to her so reading info from her expression was very easy. When it came to harder board games that required logic, such as chess, Rin and Nico were both equally terrible. Umi was an ace at that game.

"Do you guys think I made Honoka sad?" Nico asked. Rin was the first to answer. "I'm sure she is just fine, she is not the type to be sad for too long! Besides, you didn't know." Rin patted her back reassuringly.

 _"Honoka can be a hard case to deal with sometimes, but she isn't the type to be sad or hold grudges. I know, we have been best friends since we were little."_ Umi was supportive and gave good advice as always. Good thing Nico always had someone to rely on in this school.

 _"Don't worry about it. You'll talk to her tomorrow. It'll be fine."_ Kotori gave her a sweet smile. If Umi was her person to rely on, Kotori was the person to always make her happy.

 _"You know, when we first met, a similar situation happened. Since me and Kotori could only converse using sign language or our writing, and Honoka couldn't read, she had to learn sign language. Because of her problems with paying attention, she often goofed off and it made us angry. We felt insulted but we learned to adapt to her needs in time."_

* * *

"Awww, do you really have to go?" Rin asked, holding onto Nico's arm, trying to make her stay. "I have to look after my baby siblings." Rin whined. "Why can't I be your baby sibling?" She held onto her arm even stronger.

"Rin, let go of Nico. She needs to go home now." Umi scolded her. Rin reluctantly let go of her arm. "Don't worry, she'll come tomorrow as well and we can have fun together again." Kotori put her hand on Rin's shoulder. "Fine! But don't forget, we start with running laps tomorrow!"

Nico laughed. "Of course."

The walk home was nice and calm. It wasn't too cold nor too hot outside and the chilly air felt nice. The whole way, Nico thought about the events of today fondly. Her mood was a bit bittersweet however; the situation with Honoka bothered her and made her sad.

"Stop thinking about it Nico." She searched for the keys in her pockets. "You'll do something about it tomorrow."

* * *

 **You may have thought Honoka was going to be blind, but you have been deceived!**

 **But don't worry, someone will be blind.**

 **Reviews and criticism is welcome!**

 **Until next time~**


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you sure you don't want a bottle of water?" Rin asked. Nico and her were currently changing into their training wear inside the locker room. Every two minutes Nico would check if they were alone, who knows where that Nozomi girl might be…

"No, I'm good. It's still pretty chilly out there so I don't need it." Nico replied, glancing at the door again. She was sure she heard a sound, maybe her mind is just playing tricks on her. Maybe it wasn't Nozomi who she expected to see, but Honoka. Nico wished Honoka would suddenly pop up from somewhere and the two could talk about their problems. The only problem is that Honoka will not come here, and Nico has to come to Honoka. She wasn't sure she liked that idea…

"Okay. If you need it you can buy one at the automat or get one from the dining hall." After they were both ready, they left the locker room. Slowly, they made their way towards the exit. The air was still a bit cold since it was morning and not a sound could be heard. As Rin had said the previous day, she really did go out to run laps when everyone else was probably still sleeping. Nico wondered what Kotori and Umi were doing right now. Were they sleeping as well?

"Hey, what are the others usually doing around this time?" Nico turned towards Rin with her question. Unlike yesterday, Rin was wearing a training outfit that also covered her legs. Her prosthetic legs, to be exact. "Well, Kotori usually sleeps until 9AM, she is always very tired and slow if she had to get up earlier. Umi either sleeps until 9AM like Kotori or she asks one of the nurses to visit the forest nearby."

"They allow students to leave the school so early?" Nico asked. They were getting closer to the running track now. As expected, there was no one else there. "Yeah, it's not like there is no one looking after them so it's fine." Nico hummed. The teachers at her school always worry about the well-being of their students way too much and doesn't allow them to do anything without their permission. Last year when her class went to Kobe on a school trip, one of the teachers scolded her when she tried to buy an energy drink from an automat…

If you look at it that way, the teachers and staff at this special school is much more laid-back and student-oriented than the ones at her school. "What about the others?" The two arrived at the running tracks. Rin carefully put down her bag on the bench, so did Nico. "Honoka always sleeps the longest. Since she has problems going to sleep at night, she usually goes to sleep around midnight and gets up at like 10AM. Sometimes 11AM." _That's an unusual sleep schedule,_ Nico noted.

"Why can't she go to sleep earlier?" Rin finally noticed that the weather was indeed colder, and decided to put on her tracksuit. "I dunno. When I asked one of the nurses she said Honoka has too much energy and if they put her in the bed earlier, she just ends up laying in her bed for hours without falling asleep. She said that since she cannot fall asleep earlier, they might as well let her stay awake until she feels tired enough." Being allowed to stay up until midnight and not waking up until 10AM must be really nice, but at the same time her unusual schedule most likely causes problems to Honoka and the people taking care of her all the time.

"As for the others…Hanayo usually wakes up at 8:30, so she should be waking up soon." Nico looked at Rin confused after the mention of this unusual name. "Who's Hanayo? A friend of yours?" Rin's smile widened. "Of course! She isn't just any friend, she is my best friend!" _I don't want to imagine what you put her through,_ Nico thought. Dealing with Rin all the time must be a tiring "job".

"What's she like?" The two started stretching as warm up. "She is really nice! I can introduce you two if you want!" Rin exclaimed, flashing a smile even wider than before. "There's only one small problem though..." Nico noticed the mysterious tone in Rin's voice. "And that would be?"

Before Rin could answer, a strange noise distracted her. In the distance, outside the premises of the school, the singing of young children could be heard. It was the voice of many, not just a few. Probably a whole class from an elementary school. "That's kind of cute." Rin was still staring towards the direction where the singing came from. "Yeah. Gets you in the mood to do something fun, doesn't it?"

Nico nodded. "Do they come here often?" They listened to the singing that got farther and farther away from them, until it could no longer be heard. "Yup! I think I heard a teacher say these kids are from a small school on the countryside and they visit the city with the children every Sunday."

No longer wishing to prolong the start of their "race", they both stopped the talk and walked to the start line. After they were ready, Rin looked at Nico's direction one last time. "Are you ready?" With a proud grin, Nico responded. "Let's get this party started."

A second later, they started their first lap.

* * *

"Huff…huff…" As expected, Nico couldn't keep up with Rin for long and quickly fell behind. This time around however, Nico did five laps, more than she did yesterday. On the other hand, Rin did 16 this time…

"Are you okay?" Came the usual question from Rin, who was sweating heavily. "I…I think I changed my mind…I do need that bottle of water after all." The two quickly grabbed their bags and made their way back to the locker room. After two minutes of walking in silence Rin spoke up. "Sooo…do you feel better after running so much?" Nico was sure she said "so much" out of politeness. Five laps is something you are expected to complete without much difficulty in 7th grade…

"To be honest I feel like shit right now and I'm tired but it should do some good for my body, right?" Rin laughed and gave her a quick pat on the back. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. The beginning is always the hardest. We'll make a running champion out of you yet!" They both laughed. No matter how loud and nosy Rin was sometimes (many times), she was still good to have as company.

"What are we going to do next? After we get you a bottle of water, I mean." Rin asked, obviously giving Nico the chance of choosing what to do. Unfortunately, Nico couldn't spend her day with Rin. "I'm sorry but I have to visit the instructor after this. I still don't know which student I have to look after today."

Rin gave her a grin. "What's the matter?" Oh no, did Rin know Nico's partner for today? "You don't have to worry about the instructor, because I'm your partner for today!" Rin exclaimed, her white teeth shining like diamonds. "Really?" Nico was a bit suspicious. She thought Rin just wants her to stay with her. Nico didn't want to get into any more trouble. "I promise! After you left yesterday I asked the nurse if I can have you as my partner for tomorrow as well. The instructor said yes, so it's okay!"

Nico was still not sold. "But wait, don't I have to look after different students every day?" Rin laughed. "Of course not! Besides, it's in our right to request which partner to receive for a day. Usually if the partner can meet our standards the authorities always accept our request." _Oh wait, they actually said that during the lecture on my first day. Guess I forgot about it, oops._

"What do you mean by "if they meet our standards"?" Nico asked, genuinly wondering. "Well, I have seen some students who have panic attacks a lot, in those situations they need a partner that knows how to deal with them and calm them down." After Nico finished changing into her normal wear, she grabbed her bag. Rin, who was always faster at everything, was already done. "Oh, that makes sense, actually."

The drink automat was just around the corner. Nico slowly and carefully put a coin inside. She knew how these machines worked; 99% of the time the coin was not accepted and she had to retry putting it inside over and over again. Or maybe it was only 99% for her…

This time around her first attempt was successful. She pushed the correct button and the bottle of water came out. "Do you want to watch a movie until lunchtime?" Rin proposed. Nico carefully opened the bottle of cold water and started drinking from it. "Sure, why not." _Unless it's a crappy romance movie with forced comedy and that Adam Sandler guy._

"Great! The title is 100 First Dates! I hope it'll be good!" _Goddamit why._ "Oh, I think Hanayo will be watching with us too! I invited her to watch it with me yesterday. I hope you don't mind." Rin smiled at Nico sheepishly. "It's fine."

Much to her surprise, Nico saw her instructor coming towards her. _Dammit Rin if you lied to me I swear…_ "Oh, Nico, I've been looking for you!" Greeted the instructor. "I swear I wasn't late I was just…" Before Nico could finish the instructor spoke up. "I was just informed that Mr. Ikeda expects every new volunteer to go to room 102 on the first floor."

Nico gulped. _What happened this time, did some idiot screw up and hurt one of the students?_ "What happened?" The instructor looked at his watch. "Everything's fine, Mr. Ikeda just wants every newbie volunteer to complete a short test about their knowledge on the school."Nico looked at him with a strange face. Is it one of those lame tests where you have to answer both the easiest questions and the questions nobody knows the answer to? "I hope you made notes during the lecture."

Nico smiled. "Of course I did!" _It's another story I haven't looked at it since that day…_

"Good. Anyways, we don't have much time, let's go." The instructor was already on his way, expecting Nico to follow him. "Aww, we won't watch the movie together after all?" Rin asked with a sad face. Even Nico felt a bit sad after seeing that sincere expression. "Don't worry, I'm sure this dumb test will be done quickly, I'll go back to you after I've finished."

Without waiting for an answer, Nico ran after the instructor. She could only hear Rin shouting "don't take too long!" in the distance.

* * *

"Alright, it's the second to last room at the end of this hallway. Have fun!" With that, the instructor left. Nico slowly walked towards the room. When she got closer, she noticed a girl sitting right next to the door, reading a book. She had shoulder length red hair and blue, no, amethyst eyes. How unusual.

"Hey, so is this the place where we are writing some test today?" Nico waited for long seconds for an answer, but none came. The girl continued reading her book, not even looking up at Nico once. "So can I go in or what?" She waited for a reply again, but just like before the girl said nothing. Nico huffed. What a strange girl with a strange attitude.

Nico wondered if she was deaf or mute for a second. Judging by the annoyed expression on this girl's face, Nico reached the conclusion that the girl was neither deaf nor mute, just suffering from the strange illness called "assholeitis". With a sigh, Nico put her hand on the doorknob. "Fine, be like that, stupid ginger."

She said that in a low voice so others could not hear, but she made sure she was loud enough for the girl to hear. And she heard what Nico said indeed, because when Nico turned the doorknob and entered, she could hear the girl say "I'm not a ginger, you stupid gremlin!". Content with herself, Nico stepped inside.

There was already a large crowd inside. Mr. Ikeda was already here, but he was busy discussing something with another man, most likely a teacher. Her eyes scanned the large room for an empty seat, and after a few seconds of searching she found one. She quickly sat down before someone else could snatch her seat of choice.

She sat down and quickly noticed the two girls sitting in front of her. One of them looked strangely familiar…

The girl in question looked behind her and saw Nico. "Oh, hello there. Are you writing this test as well?" Nico took out her pencil case from her bag. "Of course, duh. That's why I'm here." Nozomi chuckled. She was really good at doing that, Nico noticed. "My, always so sassy, aren't you, Nico?"

"Nozomi, stop fooling around. Mr. Ikeda is handing out the tests." The other girl scolded her strange friend, so Nozomi turned back before Nico could answer her. "Geez Eli, I was just talking with my new friend!" Nozomi chimed.

Mr. Ikeda handed out the tests, and the solving began. As expected, the test was just as ridiculous as others similar to this type. There were a bunch of questions way too easy to answer, such as "what sensory organ is damaged or not wholly functional if you have blindess" and then there were questions nobody Nico's age would know, like "which genes are involved in the development of ADHD?".

Great, something else to remind her of her problem with Honoka.

After thirty minutes Mr. Ikeda collected the tests and everyone was allowed to leave. Nico patiently waited until everyone has left, then she exited the room as well. Much to her surprise, the rude girl with red hair was still sitting there, right next to the door, not even the slightest bothered by the masses of people that left the room.

Almost as if the other girl felt her presence, she looked up from her book and looked straight at Nico. "What do you want now?" Said the rude girl with a sour expression. "I wasn't talking to you and didn't plan to say anything to you, sorry." Nico replied.

The girl let out an annoying sigh, and went back to reading her book. Nico didn't like that. She wondered what the girl's response would be. "What are you doing here reading that book, anyways?" Nico asked, trying to read the title on the cover. On instinct, the girl covered the title with her hands so she couldn't see. "None of your business."

After a few seconds the girl stood up. Nico suddenly remembered her promise with Rin and hurriedly walked away. _What a strange girl,_ Nico thought.

* * *

On her way to Rin's room, Nico thought about the events of today. It wasn't even that late yet, she still had a long time to spend until 6PM, but organizing her thoughts is something she did often these days. _Must be because of that damn journal._

Actually, Nico wasn't that eager to watch this film with Rin. She felt like she'd rather jump into a well and come back as Sadako from the Ring than watch another crappy romance movie. They all use the same recipe, anyway.

"That reminds me, Rin said her friend would be there too. What's her name again? Oh yeah, Hanayo." She wondered what this Hanayo girl is like. Is she chipper like Rin or Hanayo or calm and collected like Kotori and Umi? She also wondered what that "one problem" about her is.

 _Well, she can't be blind, if she was why would Rin invite her to watch a movie with us?_

Nico really hoped Rin wasn't pulling a prank on her or hiding something important from her on purpose. She was really close to Rin's room now. A loud shout startled her from behind. "Nicoooo!" Shouted Rin like Nico returned from war, and jumped on Nico's back. "Ow, get off!" Nico quickly got rid of Rin on her back. "You are back already?"

"Yeah. I told you it'd be over soon." Rin offered her a can of coke and she gladly accepted. "What was the test like? Was it hard?" As usual Rin bombarded her with questions. "Nah, it was easy as pie. Although there were some difficult questions…I'm fairly sure no one knows the answer to them." Nico opened her can of coke and hissed when a bit spilled on her sweater. "By the way, why are you here? What about the movie?"

"Hanayo and I agreed to wait for you before starting the movie and I decided to get us some drinks in the meantime." Oh yeah, she should ask about Hanayo before she forgets. "So what is that 'problem' about Hanayo you warned me about earlier?" Nico knew something was off when Rin gave her a conflicted look. "Oh, it's fine, nothing's wrong with her."

"Rin, you suck at lying. Tell me what's wrong with her. Don't tell me she is blind or something!" Rin shot her a confused look. "What? Of course not, why would I invite her if she was blind?" Rin giggled. "No offense but you look like the type to do that." Nico said, sticking her tongue out to mock Rin. "That's so mean, Nico." Rin pouted.

"Relax, I was just kidding. So, what's the problem with her? I assume she has some illness as well?" Rin gave her the same conflicted look. "Rin…" Nico gently nudged her shoulder. "Fine, I'll tell you." Nico was really interested. What was it about Hanayo that made Rin so conflicted?

"You see, Hanayo has autism. High functioning or whatever. To her friends she is like any other girl but with strangers it's different. She is very shy and often feels uncomfortable around people. She also had panic attacks or meltdowns of whatever when she was younger."

"Rin." She noticed the serious look Nico was giving her. "What's up?" She asked casually. Nico sighed. "Are you seriously telling me you invited me, a stranger, to sit next to her on your bed and watch a movie with her for hours, knowing she can have panic attacks just by being close to me?!" Nico was angry. How could Rin be so careless?!

"I told you you'll be fine! Hanayo knows you are my friend and you are really nice so she won't feel uncomfortable around you." Rin replied sheepishly. "Well, you better be right, if she has a panic attack I'll be escaping through the window and you'll have to take care of her." Rin laughed. "Don't worry!"

Rin politely opened the door and let Nico go in first. It wasn't only this girl with glasses she assumed to be Hanayo, much to her surprise, Honoka was there as well. _Oh for Goofy's sake._

Double trouble!

Rin entered and noticed the awkward atmosphere. It was like that awkward situation in Spanish soap operas when the hero meets the father of the girl he banged yesterday, with crappy latin music playing in the background.

The Hanayo-Nico-Honoka trinity continued to stare at each other while Rin just stood there, laughing awkwardly. "Hanayo, this is Nico! She is really nice!" Rin let out an awkward laugh again, trying to ease the obviously uneasy atmosphere. "Uh, hi. Nico to meet you." Hanayo finally greeted her, evidently mustering up her courage to say these words out loud. "Hi. Nice to meet you as well."

At this exact moment, Nico wished the earth would just open under her and swallowed her. While she was having this forced conversation with Hanayo, Honoka was staring at her the whole time. "Alrighty, Nico you can sit down on the bed while I get this movie ready!"

Nico had the option to choose between sitting next to Hanayo or sitting next to Honoka. Sitting next to someone who might get a panic attack because of her presence or sitting next to someone who obviously feels bad around her. _Great options._

Or she could sit in the middle, between the both of them!

 _No, screw that._

In the end Nico decided to sit on Hanayo's side, but at least half a meter away from her. It's best she leaves her some space.

Perhaps it wasn't the wisest the decision, since as soon as she sat down at the spot she chose, Honoka shot her a hurt look. She probably misunderstood and thought Nico didn't want to sit next to her. _Well it was true but not because she didn't like her!_

"Okie-dokie, everything's set!" Rin put the DVD in the player with a swift motion, and after a minute the movie started. Nico didn't expect this experience to be so bad, but it was indeed really bad. The movie was horrible, her company was horrible since nobody wanted to talk thanks to the awkward atmosphere, and Honoka was obviously still hurt about what Nico said to her yesterday.

Nico was sure that if there was a 10th circle in Hell, it would be something like this.

Nico felt terrible. She felt like this whole situation was her fault. She hurt Honoka's feelings, she was selfish enough to invade Hanayo's privacy and she was asshole enough to accept an invitation from Rin, a girl she only knew for two days. Hanayo and Honoka knew her for a much longer time, for years, and now she ruined their fun even though she wasn't their friend.

Nico took out her phone and acted like she was checking some messages. After a minute of acting, she stood up. "Sorry, my mother called me, I'll be back soon." With that she left the room, feeling the sad expressions of the girls on her back. Of course no one believed Nico. Of course they knew she was escaping this suffocating room.

Nico started walking down the hallway, back towards the staircase. She wondered what to do now. She was supposed to look after Rin today, so she couldn't ask the instructor to change her schedule. She looked at her watch. It was 1PM. Because of that stupid test she didn't have time to eat her lunch. According to Rin the volunteers get to eat for free at the dining hall during the weekend, perhaps Nico could spend the remaining hours there…

Nico reached the staircase. She looked down but her legs didn't want to move. She could still go back and solve her problems with Hanayo and Honoka. She could still go back and have fun with Rin. But no. She would never do that.

Nico hated this side of herself. This side that was content with everything, accepting everything as they were, not bothering to spend energy on making things better. Nico knew every situation can be solved if you were determined enough, but she wasn't.

Because Nico was a coward.

With a tired sigh, Nico took her first step. She heard loud noises behind her, but she didn't care. In a way, those sounds reminded her of yesterday, when Rin crashed into her and she flew out the window like a bird without wings.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" She heard someone's voice. She thought it was Rin's, who probably ran after her to convince her to go back.

She was wrong though. This girl crashed into her just like Rin and the two fell down the stairs. It wasn't Rin. "Oww, what the hell…" _It feels like déja vu…_

"Sorry!" The girl shouted loudly into Nico's ears, then hugged her. "Oww, calm down Rin I'm not…" Nico stopped talking when she saw this person. It wasn't Rin.

It was Honoka.

"Uhh…" Is all Nico said, before Honoka hugged her again. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Nico could hear her sobbing. "I'm sowry…" Honoka looked into Nico's eyes. "I know I'm weird, but just bear with me, okay?"

Nico had this weird feeling again. This weird feeling appeared whenever she met a new girl, when she first entered Umi's room, when she first saw Kotori in the library, when Rin worriedly asked her if she was hurt after she fell out the window…These girls were all very strange, very unusual, but it was a nice kind of unusual.

"I'm sorry for acting rude yesterday…I always act like that around people even though the nurses always tell me to behave better. Sowry…" Nico felt sorry for her. Honoka was probably really nice, but because of her condition people often thought otherwise.

Nico knew that feeling well. She was not disabled like her, but she knew what it felt like when people judged you wrongly, and you could do nothing about it. "Hey, it's 'kay. I was a bit rude to you yesterday as well, sorry." Nico gently patted her head. "I hate myself…I wish I wasn't like this so people wouldn't find me weird all the time."

"Hey, you shouldn't say that. We are all different, and there are many people around you who accept you. Besides, it's not your fault." Honoka smiled for the first time since yesterday's incident. "Does that mean we are friends now?" _Whoa, she surely changes attitude fast._

"Yes, under one condition." Honoka looked confused. "The both of us stand up first." Honoka gave her an even more confused look. "What, why?" Nico groaned. "Because normally people don't lie on the floor in front of the staircase and you are sitting on my leg and it fucking hurts!"

The two stood up quickly and Nico let out an annoyed groan. Honoka laughed. Rin and Hanayo approached them to ask if they were okay. They were happy to see that Nico and Honoka solved their problems and became friends (according to Honoka). "Wow Nico, you fall down things quite often!" Rin exclaimed cheerfully. "Shut up before I throw you out the window!"

They were all laughing now. The awkward atmosphere was gone.

"So, who wants to continue the movie?!" Rin asked playfully. Poor child most likely thought the others enjoyed it. When no one said anything Rin admitted defeat. "Awww…How about going to the library then? Nico and Honoka can surely teach us some interesting things!"

"Rin, trust me, you definitely don't want me to teach you anything." Nico was a really bad teacher, or at least she thought she was. And she definitely can't and won't help with anything involving science, that's for sure. "Yay, let's go!" Honoka cheered, and she and Rin started running down the hallway.

"Geez these guys." Nico said to herself, forgetting Hanayo's presence. "Yeah, they can be…quite hard to handle sometimes." Nico put an arm on Hanayo's shoulder. "I can only imagine what it's like to handle both at the same time!"

Nico quickly realized what she did. _Did I just…touch her out of the blue?_

If Hanayo's very, very surprised expression was anything to go by, yes. Nico didn't want to know what'd happen next. Should she just run away before she has a meltdown or Hanayo runs away first, scared by Nico's presence?

Thankfully, neither options were needed. Instead, Hanayo put her hand on the hand that touched

her shoulder, and gave Nico a bright smile. Hanayo's hand was shaking a bit. _She must've had to muster up a lot of courage to touch me._

"Yeah, they are quite problematic!" Said Hanayo cheerfully.

At this moment which only lasted for less than a minute, Hanayo looked really beautiful. The way she smiled warmed Nico's heart, made her feel like she was special. "C'mon, let's get going before those two do something stupid again!" She grabbed Hanayo's arm, and the two took off.

* * *

It was dark outside. The birds stopped their chirping long ago, and the only thing they could hear was the rustling of the leaves.

The "gang", as Honoka called them, was sitting on Umi's bed. Everyone was busy doing their own thing. Umi was sitting in front of the window and watching the view, Kotori was reading a magazine, Honoka and Rin were…throwing food at each other (don't ask), and Hanayo was watching some idol performance on TV. She looked so into it no one wanted to bother her.

Nico was not doing anything. She was just sitting on the bed, retelling the events of today to herself. _In the end, everything turned out fine._

She joined Umi and watched the outside world with her. _"I told you everything would be fine in the end."_ Nico laughed. _"Yeah, but I bet you didn't expect things to turn out this way!"_ Umi gave Nico a gentle smile. _"Falling down the stairs is not the worst thing Honoka' s capable of!"_

 _"Can I ask you a question?"_ Came the reply from Umi. _"Sure, go on."_ Nico watched as the cars passed by the street, in the darkness only their silhouette and their lamps could be seen. She wondered where all those cars were going. _"Are you afraid of making decisions?"_

Nico was surprised by the sudden question. Was she? _"What do you mean?"_ Another car passed by. Then another. _"It's just my gut feeling. You seem like the person who is afraid of making the big decisions, Nico."_ Another car passed by. The crickets started chirping. She wondered if Umi would like their sound if she could hear. _"Well, I guess I like to let things happen without me getting involved. I mean, if things happen by themselves then my presence is not needed."_

 _"I think that's a really bad habit. Most people would say being rude or being a liar are two of the worst traits, but I think not being able to make decisions is even worse. It's true, you can let things happen by themselves without getting involved, but there will be a time when you miss a chance because of your indecisiveness. You don't want to spend the rest of your life thinking about how different things would be if you actually acted in time, right?"_

Nico thought about Umi's words. Umi usually said smart things, important things, so even if her advice sounds unneeded right now, it might come in handy later. _"I guess you are right."_

* * *

Kotori and Rin were already sleeping. Umi was reading a book about something that didn't interest Nico in the slightest, and Hanayo was also close to falling asleep. It was close to 6PM now, the dreaded time when Nico has to part ways with her newfound friends. She still has about half an hour to spend though.

She gets under the covers of Umi's bed, and a minute later Honoka joins her. Nico closes her eyes, and the two rest next to each other in silence.

It's not long until Honoka starts poking Nico's side. Nico opens her eyes grumpily. "What is it?" Honoka gives her a naughty smile.

"Do you want some cookies?"

 _What._

"Do you want some?" Honoka asks again to make sure Nico understands her. "Where did you get cookies?" Honoka giggles. "I stole them from the dining hall." Nico sighs, but at this point she doesn't question Honoka's actions. "I don't think Umi would be happy to find out you are eating cookies under her covers…"

Nico closes her eyes again, while Honoka eats her cookies. The monotonous crunching sound annoys Nico a bit. After a few minutes she opens her eyes again and turns towards Honoka. "You know what, gimme of some of them cookies."

Honoka happily offers her the bag of cookies and Nico takes out a big one. It tastes like chocolate and cocoa. It tastes sweet, perhaps a bit too sweet, but Nico doesn't mind. She loves sweets like this.

"Hurray, I have a partner in crime!" Honoka exclaims before Nico pinches her cheeks. "Shut up before Umi notices us!" Unfortunately she is too late and after a minute Umi takes off the covers to reveal the two "criminals" who dirtied her bed with crumbs.

She shots both of them a glare that screams for blood and punishment.

* * *

 _"September 17 – Third day_

 _Today was a very unusual day. The instructor was busy solving a problem caused by the school's cleaning company. Apparently they thought it was a good idea to clean the floors of a school with students that cannot see… Anyways, I was told to find him on the left wing. Stupid janitor couldn't tell me anything else…So I started searching the floors when I stopped in front of a window to breath in some fresh air. That's when something unbelievable happened! A girl ran into me by accident (she slipped on the wet floor…stupid cleaners) and I fell out the window. Thankfully I didn't break any bones. The girl turned out to be my partner for today! She has two prosthetic legs and loves to run. She even asked me to run laps with her every weekend, and I accepted…I dunno why._

 _Then I met a hyperactive girl. I had no idea about her condition at first and thought she was just rude, so I said something bad to her._

 _I'll have to apologize tomorrow."_

"You know…I'm not surprised you out of all people fell out a window." Maeda stated with a grin.

"It's not like I was at fault! I stood in front of a window on the day when the floor was wet and a girl decided to go running! What are the chances!" Nico exclaims dramatically.

"Yeah yeah. So did you apologize to that girl in the end?" Maeda asked her. Her teacher was just like a fan right now, excited to read the continuation of the story. "Find out in the next entry."

 _"September 18 – Cookies"_

"Cookies?" Nico sighed. "Just continue reading."

 _"I met up with Rin. We went to the running track and ran some laps. I did_ _5_ _10 and she did about 12._

 _Then she invited me to watch a movie with her and her best friend. I agreed to go. However, before I could go my instructor told me there was a test I had to write as a new volunteer. There was a rude girl sitting next to the entrance, reading a book. She had red hair and amethyst eyes, she looked really special. Then I entered and sat down after finding an empty seat. That strange purple haired girl from yesterday was sitting in front of me. She started talking to me but thankfully her friend interrupted. That reminds me, I still don't know who her friend is. Eli, or something._

 _After the test we watched that movie with Rin and her best friend Hanayo. She has autism and is very shy around strangers so I had to be careful around her. In the end, we became friends (somehow)._

 _The movie was soooo crappy! I decided to leave but Honoka, the hyperactive girl from yesterday, stopped me. Or fell down the stairs with me to make me stop, to be exact. I ended up becoming friends with her as well. She is a strange girl, very similar to Rin, but I enjoy her company (although her antics drive me up the wall sometimes)._

 _We spent the remaining hours at Umi's room. Me and Honoka hid behind the covers and ate some cookies she_ _stole_ _bought from the found out and made us clean her whole room as punishment."_

"Did you really run ten laps?" Maeda asked, suspiciously. "Of course! I'm getting better and better each time! Watch me run 50 laps in one go by the end of the year!"

"That's good to hear! You might even participate in the running competition next week. I'll be sure to tell your P.E. teacher that you require at least twenty laps a day since you are such a talent."

"Okay maybe I'm not that great actually…"

* * *

 **One more girl to go! Or is our beloved redhead truly the last?**

 **I'm glad someone noticed the small references I put in my story. The one who finds all of them gets a cookie! (Honoka's cookie)**

 **Reviews and criticism are welcome!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Well, that test didn't last for too long!" The teacher began collecting the tests. For a short second, Nozomi looked behind to see Nico, still lost in her own thoughts. _What an interesting girl._

"Alright everyone, now that the tests have been collected you may leave and resume your activities." The teacher, whose name Nozomi forget (and most likely didn't pay attention to), opened the door. The next second, masses of students began walking towards the door. In this large crowd it was almost impossible to get out, at least you had to wait a minute before you even got close to the door.

The girl next to her stood up. "Alright Nozomi, let's go." The girl walked into the crowd and gently pushed through. After they successfully got out, the two girls walked to the window to be in a safe distance from the huge mass of students.

"Fancy going to the restaurant for a parfait today?" Nozomi asked, observing the girl's behaviour in the meanttime. The blonde haired girl was reading a note, barely paying attention to Nozomi. "Sorry, but not today. The student council president asked me to help her out today, so I have to go back to Otonoki."

Nozomi let out a sigh. "Eli, you know it's okay to take breaks and just relax once in a while, right?" Eli finished reading her note and carefully put it back into her bag. "I know, but I promised to help her. I can't go back on my word."

"Hiromi never asked you to help her out, you just proposed this idea to her. Eli, you have been doing her work for her for the past month." Eli looked out the window. It was raining. Even though it wasn't winter yet, it was already dark outside. "As a member of the student council it is my duty to help the president out. It's for the sake of the school, Nozomi."

Nozomi noticed this strange girl in front of them. This redhead girl has been sitting right next to the door since before the test even started. "But in the long term you are only making things worse. If you do everything instead of her she'll get used to not doing anything, and her lazy work ethic is only damaging our school."

"Alright, fine. I'll help her one last time but I'll stop after that. I have my own share of work to do after all." The redhead was reading a book. What book, Nozomi didn't know. The girl's fingers covered the title so no one could see. She wondered if it was intentional. "Eli, we have been through this conversation many times. In the end, you always concede and say 'it'll be the last time', but we both know you won't stop. Stop being a workaholic and care a bit more about yourself, 'kay?"

"Fine." As always, their argument about this topic ended with Eli admitting defeat. It wasn't the first time she did that, and wasn't the 10th time either. It was way more than that. Eli's phone rang and she hastily picked it up. It was her sister.

 _"Hello? Oh, it's you, Alisa."_ Is this redhead a volunteer as well or a student of the school?" _"No, I'm fine. Me and Nozomi just wrote this test I talked to you about yesterday."_ Nozomi carefully inspected every part of the girl's body but didn't find any signs of a disability or a scar. _"Sorry, I think I'll come home a bit later than usual. Hiromi asked me to help her out at the school again."_

Oh, it's Nico. Why is she leaving the room now? Everyone else has already left. _"Don't worry, I prepared the lunch for us yesterday. You only need to heat it up."_ Nico stopped in front of the girl. What are they talking about?

Nico asked something from her, then leaned closer to the redhead. On instinct, the girl covered her book's title with her fingers, again. The girl opened her mouth to say something to Nico, but Nozomi didn't hear what it was.

 _"Yeah, I'll be back around 6PM. Love you!"_ Eli finished her call with her sister, Alisa. The redhead stood up, having enough of Nico's unwanted company. Before she could leave, Nico walked away first instead.

"Nozomi? Nozooomii?" Eli gently poked her shoulder. "Sorry, what's up?" It was still raining, although not as much as it did before. Nozomi was sure it would stop in an hour or so. "I'm ready to go. Do you want to come with me?" Nozomi smiled. "Sorry, I still have to do my work here."

From the corner of her eye, Nozomi saw the redhead walk away. Only now did the realization hit her. "Oh, so that's why she is here." Eli gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about?" After the girl was too far away for Nozomi to see, she turned back to Eli. "Nothing."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me? I'm sure the instructor would understand if you told him you have to help out at the school." The two were standing in front of the entrance. Eli wore a warm coat, all ready to go outside, but Nozomi was still in her indoor wear, and she was freezing. "I'll be fine. I don't want to abandon my duties here."

"You sound very serious about your duties." It was raining even less now. It wasn't even raining anymore, just drizzling. Looks like Nozomi's premonition was right, like always. "I learned from the best." She replied, giving Eli a wink.

"Very funny. Anyways, who are you helping out today?" Eli quickly changed the topic. She noticed the goosebumps on Nozomi's arms. If she had the time, she'd give her her coat without a second thought. "You don't know her. She is a girl with dyslexia. She is pretty cute."

Eli frowned. "You are not here to look at cute people, though." Nozomi laughed. "Are you sure about that? Maybe you can score yourself a cute guy if you are lucky!" Nozomi was certain any student from this school was better than Hiromi Sato. She never liked the council president. "I'm not interested in cute guys, sorry."

"Oh Eli, I didn't know you swung that way." She gave her another wink. Eli's face was red like a tomato. "That's not what I meant!"

Looking to her right, Nozomi noticed the school's doctor who was busy talking to a nurse. As per usual, Nozomi couldn't handle her curiousity and tried to listen in on their conversation from this distance. _"To think she'd go as far as to hurt a girl with her recklessess!"_ What are they talking about?

 _"I'm sorry, doctor. Rin is a hard girl to deal with but I promise it won't happen again."_ Nozomi realized that the two were in some argument of sorts. Or to be exact, the doctor was scolding the nurse about something while the nurse continued to apologize. _"You have to restrict her even more if she doesn't obey. You're lucky I didn't tell Ikeda or Mr. Takahashi, otherwise you and her would be in big trouble."_

"Anyways, I have to go now." Nozomi quickly turned back to her friend. The doctor and the nurse continued to argue, but Nozomi could no longer hear them. "Okay. But promise me it'll be the last time." Nozomi held out her pinky finger. Eli stared at her, confused. "It's a pinky promise, you dummy. And you are offended when people say you had no childhood."

"Hey! I was just a bit surprised, okay?" Eli reluctantly held out a pinky finger too. "You promise?" Eli looked into her eyes with an expression that was comically serious for a childish pinky promise. "I promise."

Their fingers intertwined.

* * *

After Eli left, Nozomi decided to resume her work. On her way she walked past the doctor and the nurse, who were still in a heated discussion. Must be something very serious if they talk about it so much.

 _"The girl who got hurt wasn't even from our school, if word got out our school would be in big trouble."_ That was the last thing Nozomi overheard, before she turned towards the staircase leading to the right wing. _I wonder what they were talking about._

From what Nozomi could gather, Rin, the girl she met yesterday at the showers, did something bad and a girl who wasn't from this school ( _a volunteer?_ ) got hurt because of it. _Interesting._

Nozomi decided she had more than enough time to think about this 'mystery' later. Now, she had to visit the girl she is supposed to look after. In the morning she and Eli were asked to help the nurses paint a new room for a new student who would be arriving at the school in a week.

Nozomi couldn't tame herself and listened in on the nurses' conversation as well. According to what the nurses said, the girl whose room they were painting was still in hospital. She wasn't disabled by birth nor did she have mental problems. Since the authorities were supposed to keep it a secret the nurses didn't know much else, other than a rumor that the girl had a terrible accident, and that's why she is going to attend this school very soon.

* * *

The students have already left the school. The ordinary students, to be exact. But to students like Eli, members of the student council, the school was never closed. They could stay there and work until midnight if they wanted.

An hour has passed since she parted with Nozomi at the special school. It has finally stopped raining, although it was still dark and foggy. The situation reminded her of a crappy horror movie she watched at the cinema with Nozomi long ago. Cold, foggy weather, a menacing empty school and a young maiden ready to explore said school.

Eli walked through the hallway. Everything was silent and empty, no one was here. She decided to visit her classroom before going to the office. The classroom felt so strange now. The lively atmosphere it had on weekdays contrasted with the dead silent and empty look it had now.

There was a textbook at one of the desks. A student must've left it there. Eli carefully picked it up and put it in her bag. _I'll take it to the lost-and-found, the student can get it back Monday._

Eli's few friends often compared her to a mother, and the school with everyone inside it were her children. Whenever a student had a problem, they always turned to Eli for help. Whenever a teacher needed assistance, Eli was the first to volunteer. When other student council members were busy, Eli would gladly do their work for them.

Many people liked her. She was the most beloved and the most respected student of the school but because of her social awkwardness and distant personality, only a few dared to get close to her. When Eli actually thinks about it, Nozomi is her only true friend.

Of course, being so popular means you have people who dislike you or hate you. Some stuck up girls hated her because, according to them, she "stole their boyfriends". In reality, she didn't 'steal' anyone, nor did she interact with these 'boyfriends'. Those boys fell in love with her act (yes, her act, not with her real self) and left their bland and boring girlfriends behind. It wasn't Eli's fault, really.

Other student council members hated her because she was better at what she was doing than them. In the beginning, almost everyone would ask her for some "minor help" because they were busy (Nozomi often told her those people were just lazy and when they were "busy" they actually partied with their friends, but Eli never listened), but after a while even those who she helped started resenting her.

Nozomi told her many times to quit and leave those ungrateful girls to suffocate in their own mountain of problems, but Eli never listened. She valued her best friend's opinion very much, but she cared too much about this school to just leave when it needed her the most.

Hiromi Sato was the current student council president. Originally she belonged to the clique of girls who only cared about fashion and gossip (they specialized in spreading nasty rumors), but when the previous council president graduated she was nominated to become the next one. Since the majority of students hated her and her group, she barely got any support. She promised to change and quit her clique, earning a huge rise in supporters.

In the end she was elected and became the current council president. Much to everyone's surprise, the status of the school got better during her time. The clueless students didn't know that it was actually Eli's doing, who did almost everything instead of Hiromi, of course. The students knew Eli played a large part in the school's success, but they had no idea how large her contribution was.

Nozomi hated the council president, and was very vocal about her opinion. Nozomi was the most laid-back and calm girl Eli ever met, so she was sure Nozomi must really dislike the president if she was so vocal about her negative opinion. Nozomi told her to have a serious talk with Hiromi many times. Eli agreed, but as soon as she was standing in front of Hiromi, who had that cheerful look on her face, her resolve weakened.

They never had that talk.

Hiromi asked her to help out at school today. Eli agreed. Helping the school is the most noble thing she could do, so why wouldn't she help?

She entered the office. There was not a single soul inside, just a note on the large table. Curious, Eli quickly grabbed it and started reading.

 _"To Eli,_

 _Unfortunately me and some other members had something urgent to do and couldn't stay._

 _The paperwork that needs to be checked is on the right side and the paperwork that only needs a seal is on the left. Principal Minami told me to write down the list of students who'll participate in next week's running competition, could you please do that as well?_

 _Thanks,_

 _Hiromi"_

Eli threw the note in the trashcan, then sat down. With a sigh, she began her work, starting with the documents that needed the school's seal. _Looks like tonight will be a long night. I wonder what Hiromi and the others are doing._

 _I should ask them about it tomorrow._

* * *

 _Urghh._

Nico continued to thrash around in her bed. The clock said it was only 5AM, she only had to get up at 6AM. That one hour of sleep does matter a lot for someone like Nico, who never meets the minimum sleep requirements as is.

Nico just couldn't go back to sleep. Strange, she rarely had sleeping problems. She very rarely drank unhealthy substances like coffee or energy drinks, and especially not before going to sleep. By the time she went to bed she was always already dead tired, so she always fell asleep fast.

She solved all of her current problems. Her latest math test got a solid mediocre result (which was the best she could achieve), Ms. Maeda hasn't been bothering her with some stupid stuff lately and her problem with Honoka was solved.

Maybe it's the new lifestyle she needs to get used to. Before she started doing the volunteer job she spent all of her free time at home with her siblings. Now she has to work until 6PM at the special school and always comes home tired. Because she is tired she goes to sleep earlier, and that messes up her old sleep schedule…which was already messed up.

She continued to struggle. She turned towards the other side every five minutes, hoping that one time she'd magically fall asleep again. After suffering in bed for twenty more minutes Nico decided enough was enough. She got out of bed and went to the kitchen. If she cannot fall asleep she might as well prepare the breakfast earlier. She'll have more time to get ready for school that way.

Her mother was already in the kitchen, sitting at the table and reading a newspaper. "What's the matter, Nico?" Her mother looked at her, worried. "I just can't go back to sleep." Nico replied, shortly and to the point. "I decided I might as well start making breakfast instead of thrashing about in bed like an idiot."

Nico walked to the fridge and took out the ingredients. "How are things going at the special school?" Her mother randomly asked. "Everything is fine, I guess. But after what happened to me this weekend I'm prepared for everything. That school is home to endless possibilities." Her mother chuckled. "Isn't that ironic? A school for disabled children is filled with new adventures and possibilities?"

Nico put the ingredients on the counter. Then she carefully opened the cupboard so that the noise wouldn't wake up her siblings, and grabbed four plates. "I mean, in a way being disabled encourages them to be open to new challenges, that's probably why the people I met there are all very independent and adventurous."

"I see. Who is your victim today?" Her mother jokingly asked. "I dunno, they don't tell us volunteers beforehand, they always inform us right before we are supposed to meet them." Nico put the four plates on the table. "Oh, you can take out one more plate."

"Why? We only need four." Nico asked, confused. "They called me from work an hour ago. I have an afternoon shift today." _Oh._ Her mother's presence was so rare these days that Nico forgot the possibility of their mother eating with them. "Finally. We haven't eaten breakfast together since I was like…10."

Her mother chuckled. Nico loved it when she was in a good mood. "We eat breakfast together during the holidays every year." Her mother probably wanted to sound humorous but Nico found her statement a bit…improper, considering their situation. A mother spending the majority of her time at work, away from her four children is not something anyone would find funny. "And what about the remaining 350 days of the year?" Nico retorted with an annoyed tone on purpose, making sure her mother understands that she didn't appreciate her lighthearted attitude.

Her mother's smile quickly faltered. "I'm sorry." Perhaps Nico's approach was wrong. Their current situation wasn't her mother's fault after all. If her father hadn't left, they'd all be okay, spending their time together in happiness like they did when Nico was younger.

Nico continued her magic in the kitchen, while her mother continued reading her newspaper in silence. "Speak of the devil…Nico, there's an article about the special school here!" Nico turned around to see what her mother was talking about. "Can you read it out loud?"

 _"Date Masmune High School for the Disabled is perhaps the most prominent school of this type in Japan. The school, with it's modern equipment and well-trained workforce, is an ideal school for anyone who wants to educate their disabled, ill or crippled relatives…This year, the school registered nearly 400 volunteers from 20 schools, this is an exceptionally high number even compared to the number of volunteers at normal schools…"_

"Okay okay, stop. Is there anything interesting or is the article about information I already know?" Nico put down the fifth plate, in front of her mother.

 _"…However, the school, probably thanks to it's exploding popularity, is experiencing it's first major scandal. According to this rumor the school separates the students with well-off families and the ordinary students, and offers the former better treatment in exchange for money from their parents."_

 _But that's just how it is everywhere,_ Nico mentally noted.

 _"…This scandal started when one of the richest families in Tokyo sent their daughter to this institute even though the diagnosis said the girl can safely attend a normal school since her injuries aren't severe. Some angry parents said that this is clearly against the rules and the girl will have better opportunities at the school since her condition isn't as bad as the other students'…"_

Nico's mother put down the newspaper. "That's about it."

"Sounds rough."

* * *

First period was geography.

Normally, Nico would be more than happy that one of her favourite subjects was first instead of torture like physics or chemistry, but today was not a normal day.

She was feeling the effects of sleeping an hour less. She felt more tired with every step she took and had trouble paying attention. Hopefully she'd get back in shape in an hour or two after her body gets used to having slept an hour less.

The teacher, a middle aged woman who was the assistant of her form-teacher, was standing in front of a map of Europe. "Alright, today someone will come out here and pinpoint every single European country. We've been studying it for the past three lessons so it shouldn't be that difficult."

It really wasn't difficult, at least it wasn't for Nico, but seems like it was a bit of a challenge for other students. "This…is Australia." The students laughed at the poor victim, who tried to improvise in front of the map. "No…that is Austria. Australia is not even in Europe."

Needless to stay, the student didn't give his best performance and went back to his seat, defeated. For the rest of the lecture, Nico had trouble concentrating, but luckily the teacher didn't notice since from the outside it looked like Nico was paying attention.

* * *

By the end of the 3rd period, Nico no longer felt tired. As expected, her body adapted to the new situation. On her way to the classroom, Nico passed by Ms. Maeda's office to hand in her journal. She stopped in front of the door and waited until Ms. Maeda would return.

On the right she spotted the student council president, who was eagerly chatting with three other council members. Nico never liked the council president, sure she looked nice and hardworking on the outside but Nico felt as if something was wrong about her.

"That party yesterday was so fun, Hiromi!" Said one of the girls around Hiromi. "Yeah, too bad you left so early!" Stated the other one. Hiromi Sato sure had a lot of fangirls around her. "Sorry. I had to go back and help Ayase with the paperwork. She cannot do all of it herself."

"Boo! We all know Eli is fully capable of doing everything, you should have just let her do it! Besides, it's not like she didn't want to help us." The girls continued to giggle and laugh around Hiromi, while she stood in the middle of the group of girls like a queen. As Nico looked at them, they reminded her of a group of lazy girls instead of the members of the student council. Shame they were the latter but acted more like the former.

* * *

"You can find the girl on the left wing, third floor." Is all the instructor could say. No note, no room number, no anything. According to him this girl Nico was supposed to look after today spent very little time in her room and was most likely not there at the moment. Instead the girl liked to wander around the school, so it was always hard to tell where she was.

When Nico asked how come a girl from this school can wander around freely, he said that her condition was not as severe as the others and her situation doesn't prevent her from doing things on her own.

What was her name again? Nishikino Maki? That name reminds her of something, or someone.

Just like every other day Nico slowly walked up the stairs, only stopping when she reached the third floor. Just like everywhere else, the walls were a dull white with no vivid colours. It still kept bothering Nico.

It was already a bit darker than usual outside. It was only late September, but winter is probably coming sooner this year. The windows were all closed, either because the air was too cold outside, or because the nurse informed the staff to always close the windows so no one can fall out by accident again…

At least Maeda didn't complain about her journal yesterday and in the end she didn't tell her P.E. teacher to have her run at least twenty laps a day. Lately Ms. Maeda has been acting more normal with her, although she still annoyed Nico on most days.

Last night, before parting with the 'gang', Rin proposed that they should exchange phone numbers. Nico's collection of numbers quickly got richer with, Rin, Honoka, Kotori and Hanayo's phone numbers. Umi was a bit reluctant to give hers to her after the cookie incident…

But in the end, she got all five's numbers. "Mother", "Ms. Maeda" and "119" were no longer the only entries in her collection.

Nico was surprised to find out that Umi had a phone as well, considering she was deaf and all that. According to Umi's words her phone vibrates heavily when someone calls her or sends her a message, so Umi can easily pick it up if her phone is close.

Nico checked the rooms for the girl. Things got a lot more complicated since her instructor forgot to tell her how this girl looked like, so Nico had to shout her name every time she entered a room with people inside.

 _Geez, why does this girl have to be problematic?_

Nico continued her search. She was well past her 15th checked room now, but the girl was still nowhere in sight. How troublesome.

Nico wondered for a minute if she was actually playing a cat and mouse game. The instructor did say the girl was constantly moving from place to place, so maybe the girl is always a bit ahead of Nico, and she only needs to be a minute faster to catch her. No, that probably sounds like a dumb idea.

Nico knocked on her 16th door. It was room 316, if this is the one room it will be her new lucky number. From the other side of the door, she could hear a female voice say "come in". Nico did as told and opened the door.

In front of her was a large table, a big window and a girl sitting at the table. The entire room danced in light beige colours, from the table to the walls. Even the girl was wearing such colours.

The girl was looking in front of her, not bothering to turn towards the person who just entered. "Uh, hello." The girl continued to stare in front of her, but she did notice Nico's presence. "Hello. Please take a seat."

The entire girl was emitting this air of grace and maturity. Her tone of voice was serious and graceful as well, but not unfriendly. There was a shade of warmness to it as well. "Okay." Nico did as told. Now, Nico was sitting on the other side of the table, in front of the girl. "I'm Yazawa Nico." Nico wasn't sure why she felt the need to introduce herself so early.

"My name is Kira Tsubasa. Nice to meet you." Nico inspected the room. There was a counter right behind her with two cupboards above it. There was an electric kettle and a teapot on the counter and a few teacups. On the other end of the counter were several types of tabletop games such as chess and cards. "Uh, I was looking for someone." Nico finally blurted out.

The girl finally turned towards her. Nico noticed that the girl was cross-eyed, and it took Tsubasa a few seconds to readjust their positions to make them look normal.

 _Oh._

 _This girl is blind, isn't she?_

That would explain why she didn't look at Nico at all. "You are a volunteer?" Asked Tsubasa with a curious tone. "Yeah." Is all Nico replied with. She was too mesmerized by the girl's grace to concentrate. "Why did you volunteer?"

Right now Nico felt as if this room was on a separate level of existence from the rest of the building. It was significantly nicer and calmer. "One of the teachers at my school signed me up."

"Is this your first day?" Tsubasa asked. "No, I've been here since Thursday." Nico was happy the window was closed so she wouldn't feel cold, and the view was still beautiful even from the third floor. "Thursday was the big initiation day, right? I noticed a large influx of volunteers since then."

"A large influx?" Tsubasa had short light brown hair and blue eyes. Her face always had a relaxed, faint smile as her default expression. "Before that day I had significantly less volunteers keeping me company. It feels nice that the nurses think I can be left on my own sometimes, but still, company for a person like me is more preferable."

"A person like you?" Nico asked, confused. "Since I'm blind the thing I enjoy the most is hearing. Hearing everything, from the chirping of birds to the rustling leaves in the wind, but I like listening to other people's voices the most." _Wow, way to be out there about it._

It was the first time a student openly told her about her condition. Sure, Rin never hid that she had prosthetic legs, but she never talked about it with Nico either. Tsubasa was the first to just flat out say it, gracefully like she said everything else.

For a moment, Nico didn't know what to say. Her silence clearly bothered Tsubasa, who admittedly preferred noise over nothing, and she frowned. "Do you want a cup of tea? I make the best one in this school." The girl stood up, and Nico immediatelly panicked.

"Wait, I can make it myself. You don't have to bother with it, considering your condition…" The girl didn't listen, and went straight to the kettle behind Nico. "It's fine, I may be blind but I did this procedure more times than I could count."

Nico didn't object. Tsubasa surprisingly didn't fall nor ran into anything. "How come you are so…I don't know how should I say this." Tsubasa giggled. "How come I can walk around so casually even though I'm blind? Well, I had years to practice and I know every nook and cranny in this school. You may not believe it but I can walk down to the first floor without assistance."

Nico didn't doubt her. After all, how could a girl as noble and graceful as her lie?

While Tsubasa was busy making tea, she didn't stop their conversation. "And how is the experience in our school so far? Good? Bad?" Nico turned around to watch Tsubasa make tea. For a second she wondered if Tsubasa knows she is looking at her. She couldn't see her turn around but she can hear the way the chair moved.

"I like it so far. I was a bit worried in the beginning, considering I had to deal with people who are much more fragile than healthy people. Thankfully my first experience greatly helped with this insecurity." Nico watched the way Tsubasa moved. If you didn't see her eyes you wouldn't even think she was blind, the way she moved around was so natural.

"Your first experience?" Tsubasa turned the kettle on to boil the water. "I was assigned to a deaf girl, her name was Sonoda Umi. Do you know her?" Tsubasa shook her head. "Not personally, but a friend of mine talked about her before. A friend of a friend."

"I see. So me and Umi spent the rest of the day in her room, chatting about everything casually. After a while conversing through writing stopped bothering me and I got used to it." Tsubasa checked the water with a spoon to see if it was hot enough. "What about the other days? Got any exciting stories to tell?" Tsubasa looked behind her, somehow straight into Nico's eyes, with a mischievous smile.

Nico wondered how Tsubasa managed to look right at her, considering she was blind. Regardless, the adorable and out of character smile made Nico smile as well. Right now she wished Tsubasa could see her expression. "Well, a girl with prosthetic legs ran into me and I fell out the window from the second floor."

Tsubasa grinned. Nico was sure that if Tsubasa wasn't so reserved, she would be laughing at her right now. "That's rather unfortunate." Tsubasa said, trying to sound as neutral as possible but Nico could hear the restrained laugh in her voice. "On the same day, I had a misunderstanding with one of the girls."

"A misunderstanding?" Tsubasa was seemingly checking the status of the tea. Nico wondered how that was possible, you do need a pair of working eyes to see if the tea is ready…or maybe not?

"She was acting a bit rude, like she didn't care about anything I said so I told her to piss off. Turns out the girl was hyperactive and had trouble with reading and paying attention." Tsubasa checked the tea again. _How can she do that?_

"Misunderstandings like that do happen often in a school like this." Tsubasa stated, matter of factly. "The very next day she ran after me and we fell down the stairs. She tearfully apologized and I felt like I was in a weird movie." Tsubasa went to the other corner. She grabbed a box and put it on the table, in front of Nico. "What was the girl's name?"

"Honoka." Nico replied, remembering her time spent with this strange girl. She felt a wave of embarrassment hit her as she remembered the cookie incident from yesterday. "Oh! Is her family name Kousaka?" Tsubasa asked, a tone more cheerful than usual. "Yes. Why?"

Tsubasa walked back to the kettle. "She is my closest friend in this school." _That's an unlikely friendship,_ Nico remarked. Tsubasa was the complete opposite of the Honoka Nico knew.

 _Well, they do say opposites attract._

"In school? Do you have many friends outside school as well?" Nico asked, suddenly becoming even more curious about this girl's situation. "Not too many, just two, to be exact. They visit me very often here, at least four times a week."

Nico remembered a case she read about many years ago. She was only about 7 when her mother and father were talking about an incident they heard from a colleague. A middle aged woman lived in a hospital for many months and her children only visited her one time during her stay. To think that someone's own children would not have enough time to visit! Tsubasa's friends must be very nice if they visit her so often. Nico wished she had friends like that.

"Your friends sound really nice." Tsubasa smiled again. This smile however, was sadder than the other ones. "They really are. Shame I can't spend time with them like I used to." Tsubasa opened the cupboard to take out a jar of sugar and some other ingredient Nico assumed to be cinnamon. "Are you guys childhood friends?"

"Yes. Before I went blind I attended the same school as them, played the same games as them and basically spent every bit of my free time with them." _Oh, so she wasn't blind by birth._

Lately Nico has been asking this question from herself: Which is easier to handle? Living with a disability since birth or encountering an illness later? Is it better to never experience something, or to lose something later but having the chance of experiencing it at least once?

"When did you go blind?" Nico asked, slowly and as politely as possible. This was a very personal topic after all, and she didn't want to hurt a friendly and warm girl like Tsubasa. "I was six. The condition of my eyes kept getting worse since I was four, but the doctors hoped my eyes could be saved."

Nico chose to stay silent. She felt like that in this moment, she is better as a listener. "I often think about those times, when I could actually see the colours, my toys, or the faces of my friends." Tsubasa took a second to continue. "But being blind really isn't as terrible as you'd think. I actually think blindness is better than being mute or deaf. But anyways, let's change topic."

Tsubasa grabbed the two cups she already filled with tea and brought it to the table. "Alright, lime tea with cinnamon is today's choice." She carefully put the cup right in front of Nico. Yet again, Nico wondered how did she knew where Nico was sitting.

Tsubasa put a jar of honey on the table as well. "How much sugar?" Tsubasa asked. "A lot." Tsubasa smiled, then proceeded to pour a lot of sugar in Nico's tea. She liked her stuff sweet, alright. "A sweet tooth, aren't you?" Tsubasa smiled.

"Yeah." Tsubasa grabbed the jar filled with honey and tried to put a spoon of it in the tea. "No honey, please." Nico quickly said, before the hated substance could reach her tea and poison it. "Strange to see someone who loves sweets but doesn't like the sweetest thing there is."

"I never liked honey. It's sweet to the point where it feels too much. And I have other reasons to dislike it as well." After Tsubasa finished her job, she put the sugar and the jar back in the cupboard. "Other reasons?" The tea was still hot. Nico carefully grabbed it and brought it closer to her nose. It smelled fantastic. The cinnamon made her feel like she was in heaven.

"My parents used to put honey into everything they could and forced me to eat or drink it like that. According to them honey is very important for a growing child." Tsubasa came back and sat down in front of Nico. "I thought parents say the same thing about milk."

Nico nodded, although Tsubasa couldn't see it. "What's in this box you put here?" A change of topic. The tea still smells nice. "Chess." Nico takes another sniff before giving Tsubasa a confused look.

"Chess?"

"Yes. I thought we could play." Nico puts down the cup of tea for the first time in five minutes. "But…you can play?" Nico blurts out, hoping Tsubasa wouldn't be offended. Much to her surprise, she is met with another friendly smile. "I can play. These special pieces were carved so I could differentiate between the white and black pieces when I touch them."

"Oh. That sounds interesting. But there is one problem." Tsubasa gave her a concerned look. "I'm so bad at chess that I'm certain even a blind person using normal chess pieces could defeat me." Nico grabbed her cup again, to drink a bit of it this time. "Don't worry, I'm not that great either."

"I guess…we can play, then." Nico conceded. The look in Tsubasa's eyes was so puppy-like that she couldn't say no.

* * *

Who won? Can you guess?

No, not Nico. Why would you ever think that?

Nico drank her last bit of tea. No matter how she looked at it, Tsubasa won. She was defeated in chess, against a blind person. Not to say Tsubasa was not good, in fact she was really good at chess.

"Well, I won." Tsubasa drank her last bit of tea as well. "Perhaps I lied when I said I wasn't good at chess." Tsubasa smiled, ready to grab the two cups and put them on the counter. "No worries, I'm sure you'd have beaten me even if you were a noob." Nico quickly grabbed the cups before Tsubasa could, and put them on the counter herself. She figured doing it instead of Tsubasa was one way of showing her gratitude for her hospitality.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Came Tsubasa's question out of the blue. Nico was a bit surprised by this sudden question pointed at her. "I still don't know. It greatly depends on my grades, I guess. Looking at them I can say for certain that I won't become a scientist nor an engineer."

"But if you could, would you want to be?" Nico walked back to her seat. "Hells no. The sciences are as far away from me as Luffy is from the One Piece." Nico looked outside. It got even darker since she got here. "I guess my goal is to become a journalist. While I'm not a gossip queen I do like hearing and reading information about everything and I think I'm a decent writer."

"I see." Nico looked at Tsubasa, deep in thought. "You know…I always dreamt of becoming a singer." Tsubasa stated, a bit sheepishly, wondering if Nico would judge her. "That sounds like a nice dream to pursue. Are you a good singer?"

"A lot of people said I am. I don't know if they only said it to make me feel better, though. I sing in the forest at night when other students gather around the campfire. It's a nice experience." Nico watched as Tsubasa continued to ramble on about her dream. She noticed how happy she was when she talked about singing.

"But why do you want to be a singer?" Tsubasa stopped talking to digest the question. She was thinking about the answer for a long time, or at least that's what Nico thought.

"When I was young, when I could still see…I loved the vivid colours. I loved how much better the world was during spring, when the flowers would be the most beautiful, or autumn, when the colorful leaves gave nature a warmer look."

Tsubasa stopped there for a second.

"I can no longer see all that. So I want to become a singer because that way I can share this feeling with others. With my voice, the colours would be alive once again."

Nico honestly didn't know what to say. The way this girl talked about her dream, no matter how difficult it was to achieve it in her situation, touched Nico's heart. Tsubasa was the happiest when she talked about her dream.

And it reminded Nico how easily she gave up her dream.

"Oh, didn't you say before that you were looking for someone?"

 _Oh no._ Nico completely forgot about that. Tsubasa mesmerized her like a mermaid and made her forget why she was even here. She looked at the clock. It was 4PM. An hour has passed since she first entered the room. An hour late from meeting the other girl.

"Oh no…"

"Who were you looking for?" Tsubasa asked with worry. She noticed the tone shift in Nico's voice. She was really good at noticing the sudden change in mood by listening carefully to others' voice. "Nishikino Maki, or something. Man, the instructor is gonna kill me!"

"Oh, I know her. What's the time?" Tsubasa stood up and put the box back in it's place. "It's 4PM."

"I think I know where usually hangs out around this hour." Before waiting for a reply, Tsubasa headed for the door. "Where are you going?" Nico asked, confused. "We are going to find Maki, of course."

"But you are…" Tsubasa opened the door. "I told you I can manage. I know this school like the palm of my hand. Let's go."

* * *

Nico was honestly very surprised about Tsubasa's abilities. She walked through the school without ever running into something or someone, and only asked for help from Nico once or twice so far. "Maki is usually hanging out at a resting room at the end of the hallway, reading a book."

"What is she like, anyways?" Nico asked, curious about her next 'victim'. The ones so far were all nice, surely this one will be as well, right?

"She is a bit serious and doesn't like childish stuff like the others, or at least that's what she says. She usually spents her time alone, reading a magazine or a book, listening to music or playing some game on her handheld." _A lonely nerd, basically._

"And she is your friend?" Nico figured that if this girl only had one friend, it would be Tsubasa. Her personality was compatible with everyone. "Yeah. We often meet at the tea room in the afternoon and talk about things. She is very pleasant to talk with."

"The tea room?" Tsubasa quickened her pace. Once again, the disabled was leading the healthy student. It was a bit comical, in a way. "The room we were just in." Nico quickened her pace as well, to make sure she was right next to Tsubasa in case she tripped. "Oh."

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something." Tsubasa looked back at Nico, although she couldn't really 'look'. By now Nico thought it must be a habit she picked up back when she could see. "Go on."

"How come you knew when the tea was ready?" Tsubasa smiled at her.

"I tasted it."

Oh. Why didn't she think about that?

* * *

Tsubasa stopped in front of a door. She carefully put her fingers on a bunch of dots right next to the door, which Nico assumed to be those codes meant for blind people. Braille, or something. "This is the resting room. Maki should be inside."

The two entered. Tsubasa first, Nico after. "Maki!" Tsubasa randomly said the name, and a quick reply came only a few seconds later. "Tsubasa?" The unfamiliar voice asked. The girl walked closer to them, and Nico only noticed it now.

It was that girl from before. That annoying ginger who sat right next to the door yesterday.

The redhead clearly recognized her as well, because as soon as she looked at Nico her neutral expression turned into a disgusted frown. "What is it, Tsubasa?"

"The girl who was supposed to look after you today got lost, and I took her here." Tsubasa stated, looking towards the side where Nico was standing. "I see…" Is all Maki responded with.

The three stood there in awkward silence, not knowing what to say. Tsubasa was most likely wondering what was wrong. "I have to go back to the tea room, I'll leave you two now. Have fun." With that Tsubasa left, and both Nico and Maki wished Tsubasa wasn't blind and she could see the hopeless expression that screamed "please don't leave me with this person" on their faces.

After Tsubasa left the room, Maki walked back to the armchair she was sitting in previously and continued reading her book. Nico sat down in the armchair right next to Maki's, and started a conversation…

* * *

If Tsubasa was calm, reserved and polite, then Maki was her complete opposite.

The next hour after Tsubasa's leave was spent with bickering, awkward and painful conversations and mockery from both sides. Whenever Nico tried to start a conversation, Maki would turn towards her with an ugly expression and say something rather distasteful to her. "Shut up" was the most common response she got.

"What book are you reading?" Nico tried to initiate a conversation for the 100th time. She wasn't going to give up anytime soon, no. She would never let Maki win. "None of your business." With a sigh, Nico quickly grabbed the book from Maki's hands.

 _"Spring Snow"_

"Wow, didn't know a brat like you was into mature stuff like this." Maki tried to get her precious book back from Nico's hands, but Nico was a hard one to deal with. Finally, Nico gave the book back. "Yeah, like an idiot like you would know! I bet the last book you read was a novel for baby children, and you only read it because it was compulsory!"

"I have you know that I enjoy reading very much. And I'm not a hipster either who thinks it's cool to sit in front of a door acting like the coolest person to ever live on this planet." Nico sticked out her tongue to mock Maki.

"At least I don't look like an elementary school student!"

"At least I'm not a stupid ginger!"

The following hour was spent with "conversations" like this. When they talked it was like a war, and when they were busy doing their own thing (Maki reading, Nico contemplating life), it was like an armistice. With every new short conversation a new war broke out.

After the darkest hour has passed, Maki put her book down and stood up. "I'm going back to my room." She stated, matter of factly. "I'm going as well."

"No way! You can stay here and do your own stuff for all I care!" The redhead blurted out. "It's not my fault I have to look after you today. Complain to the principal if you don't like it." The redhead groaned. One of her fingers was playing with her fierce red hair. Nico noticed that this was a habit of hers. She did that whenever she was angry, nervous or worried.

"Fine. But if you touch my stuff I'll kick you out." Nico felt a bit offended. Who is this girl to think she could just 'kick' her out? She sure was stuck up. "I won't. I'm not a child like you." Maki groaned again. "Do you ever look in the mirror?"

Nico made a very disgusting expression. "You little-" Before she could finish, Maki already started walking, not bothering with Nico anymore. "Hey, wait!"

Nico only noticed something very important now. She has been thinking about it a lot since the time Tsubasa introduced her to Maki. Just why is this girl here? Maki clearly wasn't deaf, wasn't blind and wasn't mute (much to Nico's dismay) and her behaviour wasn't strange at all (she was simply an asshole). What was wrong about her then? Why is she in this school?

Nico knew the answer now.

As the girl slowly walked away, Nico noticed that the girl walked with a very noticeable limp on her left leg.

Maki was crippled.

* * *

Maki's room was plain and simple. Not too boring but not very vivid either. The lighter colours dominated, with some red and pink here and there. Nico immediatelly noticed Maki's enormous book collection. It was nothing compared to Umi's, who was already a big bookworm.

Despite Maki's childish attitude, she really liked to read mature works, if the titles were any indication. Aldous Huxley, Haruki Murakami, Leo Tolstoy, Natsume Souseki, Kenzaburo Oue…Not only mature works by world-famous writers, but also a large scale, from Japanese writers to European and American ones.

Honestly, Nico expected Maki to be one of those girls who only read romantic novels or populist works like Twilight, but turns out she was wrong.

Maki sat down on her bed and started reading her book again. She also had many videogames for handheld consoles. Wii U, DS, 3DS…If you judge Maki by her childish behaviour and looks, you'll most likely think she is a stuck-up rich girl, but she actually is fairly shy and a bit of a nerd.

She noticed a package on the table. It was shaped like a book, so Nico assumed it was a book. "What's that?" Nico asked her, talking to Maki for the first time since they entered her room. Maki looked up to see what Nico was talking about.

"It's the latest part of the Song of Ice and Fire series." Maki stated, sounding as uninterested as possible. "Wow, you like that series too?" Nico suddenly blurted out. "You read it as well?"

For the next hour they talked about books. This was the first relatively normal conversation they had, although the mocking and unwanted nasty comments never stopped. "Who is your favourite character?" Nico asked, finally somewhat enjoying a conversation with this girl. "Sansa."

"Whaaat? How can you like her?" Nico made a disgusted face to prove how much she didn't like that character. "What are you talking about? She is great!" Maki pinched Nico's nose. _Oww._ "She is useless!"

"You are useless!" Maki retorted.

* * *

Nico was on her way to her apartment now. Today was an interesting day. She managed to meet two people that were complete opposites (which was oddly ironic since they were friends) and befriend both of them...although she wasn't sure if she actually managed to befriend Maki or not.

Both girls left a lasting impression on her. Both girls had something special about them that Nico felt drawn to. Tsubasa managed to reach Nico's heart and remind her of a memory she forgot long ago, with her calm words and big dreams.

Maki was also an interesting case. The girl looked like a huge asshole, and she probably was, but she wasn't too terrible. If you got on her right side she is actually somewhat nice and tolerable. If you didn't, well…that's another story.

Nico actually found her a bit cute. But only a bit! She looked really adorable whenever she talked about something she enjoyed, like reading. Her eyes lit up whenever she found out she and Nico had a common interest, happy that she can talk about that with someone too.

Nico wondered how Maki got here in the first place. How did she become crippled? Was she born with it or did she get into an accident? The more time she spent with her the more she felt like she wanted to know more about her.

Maki was like a magnet with one side keeping everyone from getting close to her, but the other side drew in everyone, including Nico.

* * *

"How did things go yesterday?" Nozomi asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Sadly Hiromi and the others had something urgent to do so they couldn't help me out." Eli said. Nozomi sighed. Didn't she promise she'd stop being the lackey of those girls and be a bit selfish just once?

"Eli, you promised…" It was 7.20, ten minutes until first period starts. "I know, I'm sorry. But on the bright side, after an hour or so Hiromi came back and helped me with the remaining paperwork." The two girls slowly walked towards their classroom. There's no need to hurry.

"You can't keep doing this. You promised, remember?" Nozomi looked at Eli with a serious expression. Since such an expression was rare from Nozomi, Eli knew she was being very serious again. "I'm sorry. I'll keep my promise."

Nozomi sighed. How much longer until Eli finally realizes she is being tossed around like a pawn? "I'm just worried about you, Eli…"

* * *

 **Since this is a long chapter I decided to write a longer A/N as well.**

 **I want to explain why I "gave" those disabilities to the girls. The biggest factor for me was personality.**

 **Honoka: Probably the easiest to get. She has a very cheerful and reckless personality, that's why I made her have ADHD. Plus she is a bad student, so her dyslexia is a way to explain that.**

 **Kotori: I always felt like she is someone who can express emotions without words. Said words, to be exact.**

 **Umi: She always felt like a very serious person to me, so I thought it would be ironic in a way to make her very serious but unable to talk at the same time.**

 **Hanayo: She was always a very shy character so I felt like it would be the easiest to write her as an autist, since some of them are indeed very awkward and shy in social situations.**

 **Rin: She is probably very obvious to get as well. She is very energetic and reckless and she is a good runner in canon, so her having prosthetic legs was an obvious choice for me (plus her condition is a reference to one of the girls from Katawa Shoujo).**

 **Maki: Perhaps the most surprising one? From what've read most of my readers thought she was going to be blind or have a condition that makes it difficult for her to play the piano. I thought either would've been too obvious and others wrote fanfics like that so I went with my original plan and made her a cripple. Why? Because I think that thanks to Maki's high social standing, appearances are very important and to her, something that's blatantly obvious and easy to notice would be the worst for her. Walking with a limp is something everyone can notice (except Tsubasa *ba dum tss*).**

 **Tsubasa: She always felt the most mature and graceful of the whole cast. For some reason fiction always portrays blind people as graceful and strong (just like the blind girl from Katawa Shoujo), people who can live without their blindless restricting them, and I thought Tsubasa is the most fit for such a character.**

 **And yes, there'll be romance in the story. We've gotten past the introduction stage and it's only the beginning!**

 **Reviews and criticism are welcome!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Kotarou, stop fooling around!" Nico angrily shouted. Her little brother was running around in her room with a toy in his hands. He got it from the kids' cereal this morning.

"But you said we'd play! Since you are not going to school today…" Kotarou stopped to look at Nico with a sad expression, then resumed his activities. "But I'm busy!" Nico replied, gripping the pen in her hands harder.

Nico woke up at dawn with a fever, and her mother (who was surprisingly still at home) didn't allow her to go to school today. She spent her time in bed until 10AM, when she decided it was time to do something useful.

 _"September 20 – Fifth day_

 _The first half of my day was rather pleasant. I spent it in the company of a blind student._

 _I managed to enter her room without knowing where I was going, and she kinda let me stay. She even offered me a cup of tea._

 _The second half of my day…wasn't as pleasant. This other girl was extremely rude to me and refused to speak with me. And I never said anything bad to her, I swear!_

 _She can be bearable sometimes though, so things aren't that bad._

 _P.S. My head hurts and I don't wanna write more."_

Nico put down her pen with a tired sigh. She really wanted to go back to bed and turn off her mind for a few hours, but sadly Kotarou was right next to her, waiting for her sister to finish so they could play. Nico wasn't going to get more sleep today.

"What is that thing, anyways?" Nico asked, pointing at the oddly shaped toy in her brother's hands.

"It's a Transformer! Look, it can turn into a car or a robot if I want!" Kotarou brought the small figure closer to his sister's face. "Yeah, I guess that's…cool." She was a hundred percent sure this "Transformer" was just a cheap copy and will break in two days…especially in Kotarou's hands.

"So are we gonna play?" Kotarou asked once more, making sure to look at his sister with a puppy face so she could not refuse. Nico stood up from her desk groggily. "I'm coming, I'm coming…"

* * *

"As you all know, there's been a very sad incident about two weeks ago." The council president said, matter of factly. "We are here today to discuss this matter in greater detail."

The other council members looked at each other, surprised that this topic was brought up. Nozomi and Eli looked at each other too, they too having no idea why this topic was worthy to discuss.

"What is there to discuss?" Asked one of the members, taking up the role of the collective entity, who asked the question everyone was thinking of. The council president looked at her with her usual neutral expression. "Principal Minami specifically asked us to discuss the incident as the main topic for today's meeting."

"Strange, the principal didn't inform any of us." Another member spoke up, while the others nodded. The president looked around, not disturbed by the low-key hostility that currently surrounded her.

"Principal Minami was very busy today, and as the council president, it was my duty to inform the other members about her decision." The president calmly stated. "So, is there anything we are supposed to specifically discuss or…?" Nozomi spoke up, and for a second she was sure the president gave her a small frown in response.

"Well, there are a few touchy subjects to talk about, considering the events that led up to Ueda Kana's suicide attempt." The members looked at the president with a dumbfounded face, before engaging in discussions about this recent reveal with the person sitting next to them.

The president hit the desk with her hand, creating a loud noise and gaining the members' attention. "Quiet, please." Eli and Nozomi looked at each other again. "Hiromi, how can you say such a thing?" Another member asked, and the president turned towards her with an all-knowing smile. "I heard the police officer talking to the principal this morning. He said that Ueda indeed tried to jump in front of the car on purpose."

Several members tried to ask Hiromi at the same time, creating too much noise in the room. "Quiet, I cannot hear any of you." Eli opened her mouth to speak, but another member was faster. "That officer was probably making that up, how could he know why she was hit? He wasn't there."

"Yeah, you probably just heard it wrong."

"There's no reason why she'd try to kill herself."

"If she wanted to die, she would've jumped in front of the tram, or something."

The members continued to throw around statements for minutes, the entire room getting more chaotic by the minute. "Enough! We are not here to play police today, we should be discussing other things right now."

"Then don't throw around baseless assumptions like that, president." Hiromi's face turned sour for a short moment. "It's a statement from a police officer, not just my assumption. Besides, aren't you a bit defensive about this matter? I'm not surprised so many of you are."

The room turned silent for a second. "What do you mean by that?" Hiromi Sato stood up, now towering over the other members like a supreme ruler. "We all know why she'd try to kill herself, and that's precisely why the lot of you are trying to deny the truth."

A girl stood up, her hands balled into fists. "W-What are you saying?!" Hiromi was not bothered about the situation at all. She kept her cool demeanor as she slowly walked closer to the girl.

"We all know that the distasteful actions of some students was the cause of this tragedy. And we all know some of them are sitting in this room right now." The president was very close to the girl now. The girl continued to stand her ground for a few seconds, before sitting back down, accepting her defeat.

"How can you say something like that?! We are all student council members here, the most respected students of the school!" Eli didn't know what to do amidst the ongoing chaos. Should she interfere before things get even worse?

"As the members of the student council, our duty is to get rid of the poison that hurts our school. Poison is poison, even if they are part of the student council." Hiromi stated, not bothered by the angry glares aimed at her.

"Don't act like you are our patron saint! Remember where you came from! If we are poison, then what are you?!" For the first time, Hiromi's calm expression turned into an angry frown. "What are you assuming?!" She questioned, looking straight into the eyes of the girl.

"Don't act all clueless! You were this school's biggest 'poison' before you decided to play fairy godmother and got put in charge of the council thanks to the idiots who couldn't see under the facade!"

"That's not true! I earned my position through hard work! Your accusations are childish!" Hiromi shouted, hands balled into fists. Nozomi decided it was her chance to strike.

"Hard work? How can you lie in our face like that?" Nozomi said, finally finding the time when her enemy was at her weakest. "What's your problem, Tojo?!" Hiromi turned towards her, forgetting the other girl.

"Since the beginning, you barely did your job! It was always others doing the work for you!" The other members have gone silent, watching Nozomi, this girl who could never get angry, or so they thought.

"What are you saying?! I always did my best, I spent many hours in this school just to finish the paperwork on time!" Nozomi let out a laugh. "Then what about this Sunday? Is going to a party and letting Ayase do your work part of 'doing your best' as well?"

Looks like Nozomi found the best spot to strike, as Hiromi didn't say anything and just stared back at her with an expression mixed with guilt and anger. Before things could go any worse, Eli stood up to stop this argument.

"Stop, all of you! We can't keep going like this all day! Let's just take it easy and don't hit each other with baseless accusations, right?" _Baseless accusations? Baseless?! Eli, what are you doing!_ "Eli…!"

Before Nozomi could continue, Eli motioned her to calm down and sit down. At first she wanted to go against her will and finally solve the Hiromi problem once and for all, but Eli's serious expression won over her will, again.

With a disappointed sigh, she sat down. Hiromi did the same.

The entire room fell silent once again before Hiromi spoke up, regaining her composure. "So, let's start things over from the beginning again…"

* * *

Nozomi continued to listen to her rambling, struggling to pay attention.

"…and very soon, Ueda will start attending Date Masamune High School." The other members looked at Hiromi with a surprised expression. "Wait, isn't that a school for disabled people?"

"It is." Hiromi replied. "Does that mean…she won't attend this school ever again?" One of the members asked with sadness eminent in her voice. Hiromi's own expression turned sad for a moment as well. "Sadly, she is no longer able to live a normal life like us."

The members all looked down, letting the room fall silent for a minute again. Nozomi wasn't sure if it was because they felt sad for Ueda and wanted to give her a minute of silence, or because they felt guilty.

"…And because of that, I thought of a good idea. I'd like to hear your opinions."

Eli and Nozomi looked at each other for the third time since the meeting started, wondering what this 'idea' will be about. "As some of you may know, Ueda's parents are poor, and they already have difficulties paying their daughter's hospital bill." Hiromi stood up again, maybe to add a more dramatic and serious tone to her performance.

"Since there are many students who asked me about how they could help Ueda, I thought we should organize a charity event for her." Hiromi stopped for a minute to read the expressions of the members faces'. "Who supports this idea?"

Everyone looked at each other for a short moment, waiting for the first person to put up their hand, before all members put up their hands in agreement.

* * *

"Why did you do that?" As soon as the two stepped out of the large room, Eli attacked her with her question. Eli didn't seem angry from the outside, but her tired tone sounded a bit hostile for Nozomi's ears. "Do what?" Nozomi looked at her, confused. "How could you say such things to the president?"

 _Oh._ So that's how things are. "I should be the one asking you! Why did you stop me?" Nozomi retorted. "Why? Because your actions were unneccessary!"

Nozomi sighed. "I did it for your sake! How can you just sit there and listen while she talks about all the "hard work" she did for us?" Some of the students looked at them, wondering what their argument was about.

"I didn't need you to do that!" Eli shouted back, surprising Nozomi with her sudden outburst. Eli was glaring at her fiercely. _I had no idea she'd get so defensive about Hiromi..._ "If I actually let you do what you wanted since the start, you'd be dead from exhaustion!" The weather was sunny outside, very unfit for the mood today.

Nozomi didn't get so angry usually, but somehow whenever Hiromi Sato was involved, her mood turned from cheerful to angry.

And whenever Hiromi Sato was involved, Eli always got defensive.

"You still didn't have to say those things to her, Nozomi..." Eli noticed a student watching them and shot her an angry glare, scaring her off. "How can you be so delusional? Don't you realize what's going on?!"

"Oh my, what is going on?" Before the argument could continue, Maeda appeared. "Oh, Ms. Maeda." Eli said, surprised by the teacher's sudden appearance. "What was that just now?" Maeda asked, giving the both of them an inquisitive look.

Eli and Nozomi looked at each other, making an agreement to not talk about it. "It's nothing." Maeda gave Nozomi a suspicious look, obviously knowing something was off, but not bothering to ask if they were unwilling to talk about it.

"Is there something we can help with?" Eli politely asked, derailing the topic as fast as possible. "Actually, I was looking for you two. A student reported in sick today, but she usually has volunteer duties after classes. Can you two talk with her and ask her if she'll skip that as well?"

"Sure, no problem. What's her name?" Maeda smiled for a short second. "Yazawa Nico. She is a first year in class 1A." _Oh, it's Nico!,_ Nozomi thought. "Okay, we'll contact her." Maeda nodded and was ready to turn around and leave when she remembered something. "Oh, and if possible, try to force her to do her volunteer work by all means."

Nozomi looked at Eli with a mischievous grin. "Sure thing. Can I get her phone number?"

* * *

"Seriously, that girl is so annoying!"

Tsubasa was slowly drinking her tea, patiently listening to Maki, who was sitting on the other side of the table. She has been talking about Nico for the past 30 minutes. "I take it you don't like her?" Tsubasa asked, in-between two sips.

Maki groaned. "I don't, at all! She is the worst." Tsubasa chuckled. "And why is that? Why don't you two get along?" Tsubasa noticed that Maki didn't even touch her tea. She was busy talking about yesterday's experiences.

"She keeps coming with petty insults about everything. She makes fun of me because of my hair colour, she makes fun of me because I'm younger, she makes fun of me for everything!" Maki grabbed her cup angrily to take a sip. "And she doesn't let me read!"

"Well, Nico does seem like the person who likes to joke around." Tsubasa looked out the window. Is Nico coming today? "That's no excuse to be a jerk! Besides, her jokes suck." Maki looked at Tsubasa with a pouty face. Tsubasa couldn't help but let out another chuckle. Maki can always keep her entertained.

"I bet she just wants to make friends with you. At least she is trying." Maki shook her head in a way that reminded Tsubasa of a young child. "And I don't want to make friends with her! I'm perfectly fine by myself, without the company of that midget." Maki took another sip. "Besides, if I really wanted to look for friends, I definitely wouldn't start with girls like her."

Tsubasa gave her an unreadable smile. "What's so funny?" Maki asked, a bit offended that Tsubasa didn't take her seriously, nor did she agree with her views on Nico. "I was just thinking that you two will be great friends." Maki snorted. "You can't be serious."

"I actually am." Tsubasa drank the last bit of her tea, looking inside the empty cup with a forlorn expression. "And I think it would do good for you to have someone like her by your side." Maki noticed the serious tone of her friend's voice and actually considered her opinion a bit, before going back to her usual self.

"Nah. No way." Maki replied, short and to the point. Tsubasa sighed. "You have quite the personality, you know that?" It was unusually sunny outside. Definitely better than the foggy and moody weather of the past few days. "M-my personality is completely fine, thank you!" Maki annoyedly replied, with a blush on her face.

Tsubasa couldn't resist any longer, and stood up to get herself another cup of tea. During the process, she stayed silent and continued to listen to Maki's ramblings. Maki fidgeted with her hair, a habit she did ever since she was little. Tsubasa sat back down and noticed the sudden change in Maki's tone.

"…Do you think my hair actually looks bad?" Maki asked sheepishly. Tsubasa took a few seconds to get a better understanding of the question inside her head, until she realized what it was about. _Oh._ "You don't mean…you actually took Nico's petty insults to heart?" Although Tsubasa couldn't see, she could hear the small gasp that Maki let out. "N-no, I was just asking!"

"Don't worry, she was just joking. Your hair is completely fine." It was already close to 2PM. Will Nico come today as well? Will she get to spend her day with Maki again? "Thanks. But I told you it wasn't about Nico at all! Besides, how do you know if my hair looks good if you can't see it?" Tsubasa leaned back in her seat. "Why did you ask me, then?"

Although she couldn't see, she was perfectly sure Maki was embarrassed right now. "L-let's just change topic, okay?" Tsubasa smiled. Maki really is an entertaining girl. "Sure."

* * *

*Ring*

"…"

*Ring*

"Urgh…"

*Ring*

"Nico, your phone is ringing!" Kokoro stated the obvious, just in case Nico's mind was still turned off while she laid in bed, looking like a corpse.

"Alright goddamit I'm coming! Who the heck is it anyways…" Nico slowly and painfully climbed out of her bed and went to the living room. Nico grabbed her phone, which was left in the pockets of her uniform yesterday. "It's Nico." She stated, already wishing the conversation was over.

"Hellooo~" Came the odd voice from the other end of the line. Nico was sure she knew that voice from somewhere… "Who the heck are you?" Nico questioned, not bothering with formalities in her current, miserable state.

"Aww, is that the treatment I deserve?" Teased the mysterious voice, much to Nico's annoyance. "Look, if you don't start talking I'm hanging up…" Nico's tactic worked as the girl from the other end turned back to her serious self. "It's me, Nozomi, geez…I didn't know you are usually this grumpy on mornings."

Nico groaned, so loudly that even Eli heard. "It's not even morning." Nozomi giggled. "Well, you sound like someone who just woke up. And since you aren't at school, you probably spent all that free time sleeping, I assume?" Nico heard as her siblings played with some board game in the background.

"And you sound like someone who needs to go to sleep and never wake up." Nico was sure she heard someone giggling on the other side, but it wasn't Nozomi. "You are so mean to me. If we were on the net I'd send you a sad smiley right now."

"If I was on the internet I'd delete you from my contacts list as soon as possible." Getting tired of standing in one place, Nico took a few steps and sat down in the couch. "Seriously, what the hell do you want?" Nico heard her siblings argue in the background. _Someone must've cheated._

"Maybe I just wanted to hear your voice." Nozomi replied, trying to sound as smooth as possible. Nico groaned once again. "I'm hanging up…" Before she could do that Nozomi managed to make her stay once again. "Ms. Maeda told us to call you."

That took Nico by surprise. "What does she want? I swear if she wants me to hand in my journal I will-"

"She wants you to go do your job in the afternoon if you are feeling better." Nico's initial reaction was to throw the phone out the window, but she managed to contain her wrath. "What the hell? Can't I be sick for one damn day? Does she think I'm lazing off or something?"

"Well, she didn't say you have to go if you are really sick." Nico moved around a bit in the couch. The bed really was more comfy. "Thanks, but I'd much rather spend the day in my bed."

"I see. If you do get better and decide to go, send me a message. We'll gladly go to the school together, since we don't want you to go there by yourself in your current state." _Sounds great, having you as company is more than I could ever ask for._

"Okay. If you excuse me, I'm going back to sleep now." Nozomi hummed. "I hope you'll get better."

"Yeah yeah, see ya."

"And by the way, Ms. Maeda hopes you'll get better so you could come to school tomorrow."

"You can tell Maeda that she can flush herself down the toilet. Oh, and tell her to stop giving out my phone number to every weirdo she meets." Nozomi giggled. "Sure thing."

Nico hung up and went back to her bed as quickly as possible. She got under the covers and made herself comfortable. "Sorry everyone, but the bed will be my only partner for today."

* * *

"This Nico girl…sounds like an interesting person." Eli grabbed her bag, ready to leave school for today. "Oh, you heard us? Yes, she really is." Nozomi quickly wrote down something on her phone. "What are you doing?"

"I'll just write a message to Nico about where we should meet." Eli gave her a questioning look. "But she said she wouldn't come." After Nozomi sent her message, she put away her phone. "She'll come, I'm sure of it."

"Did the cards tell you?" Nozomi gave her a wink. "Yes. And I believe in the heart of the cards."

Nozomi grabbed her bag as well and the two walked down the hallway. "How do you know this Nico, anyway?" Eli asked, suddenly curious. Nozomi never told her how, but somehow she always knew everyone. "We met at the showers. She was with another girl."

"I'm not sure if I want to hear the full story." Nozomi chuckled. "Perhaps I worded that a bit wrong…hehe."

They stepped outside the school. It was still sunny and somewhat warm. "What do you think, is the weather going to be like this all day?" Eli asked, putting full trust in Nozomi's gut feeling. Somehow, she was always right.

Nozomi looked up at the sky for a short moment. "I think it will be sunny all day. How many more minutes until the bus comes?" Eli checked her watch. "About twenty-five."

"Let's get going, then."

* * *

Nico was in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Somehow, she couldn't fall asleep. It's not like noise was bothering her, since her siblings went quiet after Nico went back to sleep, so that they wouldn't disturb their sister.

She still had a terrible headache but she no longer felt dizzy. Curius, she stood up and put the thermometer under her arm. "37°C, perfectly normal." Nico put the thermometer back on her desk and sat back down.

Ms. Maeda said she should go do her job in the afternoon if she gets better. Of course Maeda had no way to check if Nico's condition was actually that not-okay, but knowing her she'd find out that Nico wasn't that sick and punish her. _Scary woman._

"Still, I might not have a fever but I do feel like shit." Nico listened as her clock continued ticking. It was a very monotonous sound, very calming in this situation. But it also reminded her that she had less time to decide.

"Why is it so important to go today as well, anyways?" Nico put the thermometer under her arm again to make sure she really didn't have a fever. "Sigh. Anyone can replace me today, and it's not like my person is a neccessity for those girls."

Nico heard a crash sound coming from the other room. It was Kotarou's room, he was probably playing with his remote-controlled car. Nico bought that for him as a Christmas present last year, he has been playing with it every day ever since. _Man, that thing was expensive._

And it really was. She spent almost two months of her allowance on the toy and couldn't buy her usual dose of sweets like she did every month. She had other options as well, lazily built cars with wheels barely attached to them, and there were small scratches, lines in the paint, obviously a sign that even the paint was of low quality. They were cheaper, but Nico didn't want to give such a failed product to her little brother. He deserved better.

She looked at the clock again. Another five minutes have passed. Her stomach rumbled from the lack of food. Nico looked at the small dish her mother hastily prepared for her before she left, but quickly looked away in disgust.

She didn't feel like eating right now. She grabbed the bottle of water next to the dish and started drinking. The water felt refreshing on her dry mouth. "Stupid Maeda and her stupid meddling."

Nico searched for her phone in her uniform's pockets. She quickly turned it on and checked the message Nozomi sent her hours ago.

 _"From: Nozomi_

 _If you ever feel like coming, join us at the bus station at 14:30. We'll be waiting for you :)"_

Nico voiced her frustrations with a pained groan. "This girl sure is persistent." The car crashed into the wall again. _I should remind Kotarou to use that thing more carefully._

Just before she could put her phone down, she received another message. From Nozomi…

 _"From: Nozomi_

 _Come on Nico, just think about all the girls waiting for you._

 _Imagine how disappointed they'll be when they hear you won't be coming :'("_

 _Wow, what great timing._ Nico wondered for a second if Nozomi messaged her right now because the cards told her it would be the right time. _Nah. Sounds stupid._ She quickly wrote a short, but to the point reply.

 _"To: Nozomi_

 _Alright, I'm coming, just let me get dressed first._

 _And stop messaging me :L"_

It didn't take long to get a reply. Looks like Nozomi was a master of message typing. The car crashed into the wall again. "Kotarou, be more careful with that thing! It cost me a fortune!" Nico shouted to make sure he'd hear.

 _"From: Nozomi_

 _You're so mean :(((_

 _We'll be waiting for you at the station. Bye."_

Nico finally put down her phone, happy that this conversation was over. She opened her closet and took out some clothes to put on. She definitely won't be going in her uniform today. It was sunny outside, but Nico felt a bit cold. _Probably because of my fever._

After changing into outdoor wear she went to her siblings' room to check on them. As expected, Kotarou was still playing with his car while Kokoa read a book. Kokoro was watching TV and occassionally checking out Kokoa's book. "Alright guys, I'll be going now."

The siblings looked at her with a confused expression. "But aren't you sick?" Asked Kokoa the obvious question. "I no longer have a fever and feel much better now." Nico replied, trying to sound as mature and serious as possible. "You should stay at home." Kotarou said, and the others nodded in agreement.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Nico looked at the television. Kokoro was watching some kid's show before but it ended just a few minutes ago. Now it was time for the usual and boring news corner. _Do they have to inform us about the same news at least 10 times a day? Our memory's not that bad._

 _"As many of you may know, the Nishikino family owns the most prestigious chain of hospitals in Tokyo and in Japan. The family has been in the business for the past seven generations and is considered one of the oldest doctor families in the country."_

 _Huh. It's about the Nishikinos again. It's like there is no other topic worthy of discussion._

 _"…The current heads of the family both work as doctors in their own hospital and earned the respect of many patients. Everyone who can afford it turns to the Nishikinos for medical help."_

 _"Everyone who can afford it"…so like less than 5% of Tokyo's population. Well, only the elite deserve to be treated fairly, I guess._

 _"…But recently a scandal has damaged their clean reputation. According to an insider, the family's been cooperating with the heads of Date Masamune High School, a special school for disabled or mentally impaired students. The most extreme versions of this rumor claim that the Nishikino's send many of their former patients to that school in exchange for money. If the patient doesn't meet the school's requirements, the Nishikino Private Hospital changes these patients' records so they could meet the requirements and apply for the school."_

 _Corruption among the elite? Wow, what a surprise._

 _"…Thanks to this rumor the number of patients per month has decreased and some citizens urge others to boycott anything owned or touched by the Nishikino family. If this crisis on and their name is not cleared, the Nishikino family will be looking forward to some tough years."_

"Sissy, what's the matter. Aren't you going?" Nico got out of her daze thanks to Kokoa's sudden question. "Oh. Uh, I'll be going now. Be good and don't open the door to strangers!"

Nico turned around and searched for her keys. "And Kotarou, stop crashing your car into the wall!" Kotarou quickly responded with a "Yes sister!" before Nico opened the front door and left.

Nico still had about 15 minutes to reach the bus station before she's late. Well, since Nozomi is there "waiting for her" maybe that'd be actually better…

As Nico expected it was warm and sunny outside, at least to others. As for her, she felt a bit cold. _That damn fever._ Nico sighed. _And that damn Nozomi._

* * *

"Are you sure she is coming?" Eli asked, a bit nervous. The bus will arrive shortly, and Nico was still nowhere to be seen. Nozomi looked at her with her usual, confident smile. "I'm sure she will." Eli sighed. "I never understand how you know these things. Is your gut feeling really that good?"

"You just have to believe in the heart of the cards." Nozomi gave her a cocky smile. Eli hated when she did that. "You always say that, but I still don't understand." Eli saw a short girl with black hair and was ready to greet her when she realized it wasn't Nico.

"Just have some faith in me, Eli." Eli wanted to respond with something like "I always do that", but she decided it was easier to just admit defeat. It's never a good idea to argue with Nozomi. "Look, there she is!" Nozomi exclaimed, pointing at the small girl who was about twenty meters away from them.

They waved to her cheerfully, or at least Nozomi was rather cheerful…

"Sup, guys." Nico greeted before shooting Nozomi an angry glare. "I'm glad you came." Nozomi hummed, proud that her gut feeling didn't fool her this time either. "I thought you'd say 'I know you'd come'."

Eli stood there awkwardly, feeling that she isn't needed for this conversation. "Well, I knew you'd come." Nico groaned, and suddenly realized that a third person was present. "Oh, hi." She greeted Eli, as awkwardly as it was possible.

"Hi. I'm Eli." Eli introduced herself, holding out her hand so Nico could shake it. "I'm Nico." Nico shook her hand as she was supposed to. They both stopped with the introductions when they heard Nozomi giggling. "What's so funny?" They asked, both at the same time.

"Guys, you two are like two people with a gun pointed at their heads. There's no reason to greet each other so formally, it's not like either of you are adults or something." Nozomi continued to laugh at her two awkward companions while Eli and Nico looked at her, offended.

"The bus is coming." Eli announced, happy that this awkward moment would be over soon.

* * *

 **The plot thickens!**

 **I have been feeling rather bad lately and also had school this Sunday so I didn't have much time or energy to write. Forgive me if this chapter is a bit worse than the others, I really tried!**

 **I have corrected some errors you guys pointed out in previous chapters. Thanks for the feedback.**

 **If I were to give NozoNicoEli a disability? I guess Nico'd have bipolar disorder, Eli would have social anxiety and as for Nozomi...maybe some eating disorder? Maybe bulimia? I feel like Nozomi would have a disability that's not obvious to others and no one can notice until it's too late, or something.**

 **^No worries, I don't plan to make the trio have disabilities in this story. But it would be a fun plot twist, wouldn't it? Nico is about to propose to Maki when she suddenly has a heart attack and dies. Good thing I don't write tragic romances.**

 **Reviews and criticism are welcome!**


	8. Chapter 8

Nozomi looked around. The bus was a bit crowded right now, most students were going home at this hour. They were lucky to find some empty seats, otherwise they would have had to stand all the way.

 _Good thing Nico is so energetic,_ Nozomi thought. If it wasn't for Nico, the three would be standing right next to a crowd of noisy students or grumpy old people. As soon as they got on the bus, Nico made a run towards the empty seats she spotted, sitting down before that grumpy old woman could steal their seats.

The old lady gave them a few nasty stares afterwards, though…

Nozomi was sitting right next to the window while Eli sat next to her. Nico sat on the other side, facing them. Or not really "facing" them, since to Nozomi it seemed like Nico tried really hard not to make eye contact with her or her blonde friend.

Eli was not much better, though. As soon as she sat down, she took out a magazine and started browsing it, not looking up even once. Everyone else would have thought Eli was just really into that magazine, but Nozomi's careful eyes noticed that Eli has been "reading" the same page for the past 10 minutes…

Nico was staring out the window. _What a strange girl,_ Nozomi mentally noted. From the outside, Nico didn't look like a person one should be afraid of. She was small, petite and looked like any other generic schoolgirl. But the small exterior hid a big personality inside.

Nozomi rarely saw anyone as headstrong and energetic as her. Sometimes her antics, combined with her short build, made Nico look sort of hilarious to Nozomi. It was like a chipmunk trying to battle a tiger, or an elephant.

For a short moment, Nozomi wondered how Nico would do against Hiromi…The two did seem somewhat similar after all. But at least Nico wasn't ill-willed, unlike their council president.

"Are you going to keep staring at me, or what?" Nico asked, annoyed that the purple haired girl in front of her has been staring at her for the past minute. "Sorry, I was just thinking." Nozomi replied sheepishly.

"Thinking about what?" Nozomi giggled. "About how you keep avoiding eye contact and about the fact that Eli has been reading the same page since we got on the bus." Both girls looked up, like two kids with hands caught in the cookie jar.

"I-I wasn't avoiding eye contact, what are you talking about?!" Nico blurted out, which only made her sin more obvious. "It's not the same page, it's like the third!" Eli followed, with an excuse just as weak as the other's.

"Sure." Is all Nozomi said before opening her bag and searching for something. Eli and Nico looked at her, confused. "What are you doing?" They asked at the same time. After some seconds Nozomi put a notebook on her lap. "We," Nozomi took a short pause there to emphasize the importance, "are going to become friends."

For the first time since they've met, Eli and Nico looked at each other, even more confused than before. "What do you mean?" Nico asked, her eyes kept on the notebook in front of her. "I'll ask a generic question, and we'll take turns answering them. It's like Truth or Dare without the dare."

Nico gulped. This sounded like a bad idea. Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking that, if Eli's "deer caught in the headlights" expression was any indication. "And…what if I don't want to play?"

Nozomi looked at her and let out a small chuckle again. "See that window next to you?" Nico looked where Nozomi pointed, although she knew there was a window next to her. But she wanted to make sure…

"Uh, yes?" Nozomi still had that smiling expression, but her tone got suddenly deeper. "I lied, there is one 'dare'." Nozomi paused there to emphasize her words. "If you don't want to answer the questions, I'll throw you out the window."

For a moment Nico wanted to ask what the hell was wrong with her, but the expression on Eli's face changed her mind. Right now she wasn't sure if Nozomi was joking or not…

"Let's…let's play, then."

Nozomi hummed in her victory. "Alright. First question…"

* * *

 _"So do have you got any new recommendations?"_ Maki signalled with her hands. Her and Umi were currently walking down the hallway, their destination being the lunch hall. _"What about the book I gave you the other week?"_ Umi signalled back, her hands forming 'words' as fast as the wind.

 _"I've already read it."_ Umi gave her an all-knowing look, which offended Maki a bit. _"What's that look supposed to mean?"_ Maki asked, grumpiness evident on her face. Umi smiled. _"You always finish them so fast. Do you do anything besides reading?"_

Maki's face went red. _"Now what are you implying? I have you know that I have many friends, and reading is a hobby for smart people, thank you very much!"_ Umi giggled. _"And who would those friends be?"_

Maki took a moment to count her friends with her fingers, but no matter how many times she retried, she couldn't count farther than two… _"Alright…You and Tsubasa."_ Maki looked down with the face of defeat.

 _"No matter what mathematical system you use, two is not many."_ Maki sighed. _"But you two are more than enough! You are already worth more than the students of the entire school!"_ Maki responded, trying to be as convincing as possible.

 _"I'm just saying that you could have so many more friends if you tried."_ Umi replied, in her trademark 'I know better than you do' fashion. If there was one thing Maki disliked about her, it was that. _"Are you saying I'm not trying?"_ Maki questioned, her expression turning into a sad one.

 _"Well, not bothering to speak or walking away when someone tries to talk to you isn't exactly the definition of trying."_ The two turned left and made their way towards the staircase. _"And what if I don't want to talk to them? I still have the liberty of choosing my friend circle, right?"_

Umi walked a bit forward, holding out her hand for Maki, who stood there awkwardly. _"Of course, but you can't make a big circle if you refuse everyone. You can't even know for sure if someone really is_ _unsympathetic from a first impression."_

Maki was still refusing to grab her hand. Instead, she stood in front of the first step and looked down with a fearful expression. _"I'd say I'm good at judging character from a first impression!"_ Maki retorted proudly.

Umi shook her head. _"You really are a handful."_ Maki looked offended at the notion. _"What do you mean by that?!" I mean that you are really hard to read,_ Umi mentally noted. But she didn't say it out loud, that'd only make Maki even more grumpy.

 _"Nevermind that. If you are really good at judging people, what about Yazawa? She really is nice but from what she told me you didn't think that way."_ Umi quickly grabbed Maki's hand. _"Anyways, we should get going now. Come on, I'll hold your hand."_

Umi was ready to take the first step when she felt a tight grip around her hand. She looked back to see a Maki with a very scared expression. _Sigh. "Don't worry, I'm in front of you. I'll make sure you don't fall."_ Umi smiled at her reassuringly, which gave Maki a boost of confidence.

Slower than before, Umi began to walk down the stairs, one by one, with Maki following behind her.

* * *

"M'kay. Next up is Eli. Do you have a sibling?" Nozomi asked, turning towards her blonde companion.

Eli sighed. "Yes, I do. Her name is Alisa and she is 11 years old." Nozomi hummed. She already knew all of this about Eli, but for Nico's sake she'd have to listen to everything one more time.

"Alisa? Sounds like a strange name." Nico noted. "Well, our father isn't Japanese and we both got European given names. He figured that if our surname is Japanese it's only fair."

Nico listened eagerly. She was surprised at herself, usually she found conversations like these boring and cliche. It wasn't the first time she had a talk like this with girls. The most recent was about half a year ago, when she was on her way home on the bus and two girls from the same class accompanied her.

Nico figured they only started a conversation with her since they were stuck in the same place and wanted to talk to avoid boredom. They asked her about her family, then about her personal taste. Her favourite colour, favourite food, what clothes she preferred, etc.

But Nico could see in their eyes that they weren't interested in the slightest. Her suspicion was basically confirmed when one of the girls got a call and completely ignored her even though she was in the middle of her talk.

But now it feels different. Nico feels as if these two truly do care about what she has to say. Maybe Nozomi only cares so she could make fun of her later, but still…

"Wait, then your name isn't Japanese either?" Nico asked. "Yep. My given name is Elizaveta, but I shortened it to Eli." She stated, proud of her origins. Her tone made Nozomi giggle. "Eli, you sound like a true patriot."

"It's not that, I just like my name!" Eli replied, ashamed that she was successfully teased by her friend once again. "Anyways, it's your turn, Nico." Nozomi scribbled something down in her notebook, again. "What are you doing?" Nico asked.

"I'm just writing down all the info you guys told." Nico and Eli looked at each other again. "Why?" Nozomi looked up with a mysterious smile. "Why? To make sure I don't forget anything important." Eli gave her a questioning look.

"You never forget anything. Forgetting sounds like something that goes against your principles." Nozomi stopped writing and closed the notebook. "Even I forget things sometimes." Nozomi replied, sounding as mysterious as possible. "I don't believe that."

"Anyways, what is the next question?" Nico asked. "Enjoying the game, aren't we?" Nozomi gave Nico a teasing smile. "S-shut up! I was just asking in case you forget it's my turn and punish me for it." Nico retorted with a blush on her face.

" What is your dream?"

"…"

 _My dream, huh?_ "Cat got your tongue?" Nozomi noticed the uncomfortable expression on her face. "Do you want another question?" Nico shook her head. "I guess my dream is to become a journalist. I always felt like I'm a creative writer and I like gossip…even if I don't have anyone to discuss them with."

"Is that really your dream? Usually girls our age dream of much more extreme things. Like a politician, or a famous actress or a signer." Nico hummed. "Well, I think it's better to have a dream that you can actually accomplish. Otherwise, the pain when you realize your dream can never come true would be too much."

Nozomi and Eli looked at each other. "Still, it's good to have a big dream, even if you might never accomplish it. It gives you a sense of duty. It motives you to try harder." Eli said, looking straight into Nico's eyes. Nico could feel she was talking from experience.

"You sound like someone with experience." Nico responded, accusingly. "Well, I guess I had my fair share of broken dreams and failed wishes." Eli finished, trying to sound mature but to Nico and Nozomi she sounded more sad.

Before Nico could ask further, Nozomi interfered. "Anyways, next question! Eli, did you ever have a crush on someone?" Nozomi asked, flashing a playful wink in her direction. "Nozomi!" Eli's face got suddenly redder.

* * *

 _"Do you think the food is going to be good today?"_

Umi and Maki were very close to the dining hall now. Maki wouldn't admit it of course, but she was really hungry and wanted to eat something as soon as possible. _"You say it like the food was ever bad."_

 _"It was terrible yesterday! That damn orange fruit tasted so bad!"_ Maki stated, sticking out her tongue to emphasize how disgusting that fruit was. _"Well, princess Maki didn't tell the kitchen lady she hated tangerines."_

Maki looked offended. _"I'm not a princess! Besides, why couldn't they wait with the tangerines and ask if I wanted them or not?" Sigh._ Maki really acted like a spoiled brat sometimes. But Umi guessed that was also a bit charming about her.

 _"And you couldn't grab your fork and give the tangerines to Rin or someone else?"_ Umi opened the door to the dining hall. As expected, it was almost completely empty. _"I did exactly that, but the juices soaked the potatoes and my whole food tasted like tangerines. It was disgusting!"_

 _"Well, this is a school's dining hall, not a five star gourmet restaurant. Besides, couldn't you just ask the nurses to let you out and have lunch at your parents' hospital? You always do that."_ The two grabbed their rations and sat down. Much to Maki's delight, there were no tangerines today.

Maki grabbed a mouthful of pasta with her fork and put it in her mouth. _"Yumm, this is good. But anyways, I don't want to be a pain in the butt for my parents all the time."_ Umi looked at Maki, confused. _"Why would you be a pain for them?"_

Maki's expression saddened again. _"I don't want to visit them so much, otherwise the school might think I'm being a spoiled brat and cause problems for my parents. And…"_ Maki looked away, obviously not wanting to finish her monologue. _"And?"_ Umi asked, demaning the second half of what Maki wanted to stay. It was better to let it all out than keep your problems to yourself.

 _"You know about the whole scandal thing, right?"_ Umi's expression saddened as well. She nodded. _"The last time I visited my parents, the protesters shouted nasty things at me and everyone else involved with the hospital. And when I was sitting on the bus the other day because our chauffeur was busy, I heard some girls and boys talk about me behind my back."_

Umi put a hand on Maki's shoulders reassuringly. _"Just ignore them."_ Maki shook her head. _"I can't do that. This whole ordeal is my fault, I cannot just ignore it and let my family take all of that negativity."_

 _"But it's not your fault at all!"_ Maki sighed in defeat. _"I just hopethis thing will be over soon."_ Umi gently patted her head. _"You can always talk to me or Tsubasa or even to Mrs. Kawaguchi, you know."_

 _"But what can you three do? You and Tsubasa are just kids, the adults doesn't care about what you say at all, and Mrs. Kawaguchi is a member of the school staff, nobody would believe her since she is involved with the scandal as a staff member."_

Maki looked down and grabbed another big piece of pasta with her fork. She looked miserable right now, like a sad puppy. Umi wished she could make her feel better somehow. _"Still, having us three is still better than having no one, right?"_

Maki nodded. Umi felt like this was the end of this conversation. Maki clearly didn't want to discuss it any further, and Umi really had nothing to add. The two ate in silence for the next few minutes.

* * *

"Next question for Nico. Have you ever been abroad?"

Nico nodded. By the courtesy of Eli, she was currently munching on a delicious pocky stick. "Damn Eli, this tastes really good!" Nico exclaimed with a content smile. "I'm glad you like it!" Eli responded, grabbing a stick for herself.

Nozomi was happy to see them acting more natural towards each other now. A small layer of ice was still there between them, but Nozomi was confident there was nothing she couldn't melt. "Nico, the question."

Nico quickly swallowed the remnants of the chocolate stick. "Sorry. So umm, I have been to Korea with my parents when I was very young. None of my siblings were born yet. It was fun." Nico reminisced. It truly was a fun time back then.

"North or South?" Nozomi asked all of a sudden. "Huh?" Nico and Eli asked, not understanding the question. "Which Korea? There are two, y'know." Nozomi stated, obviously proud of her joke. "Sigh. The South, of course. Leave it to Nozomi to ruin the atmosphere with her shitty humor."

Nozomi laughed. "Come on, you can never be too sure! It could've been North Korea for all I know. I heard it's a popular tourist destination for seekers of adventure." Nico groaned. "I'll gladly pay for your trip to North Korea if it meant you'd stay there."

Eli laughed. Nico smiled, proud that for the first time in many years, someone who weren't her siblings laughed at what she said. Nozomi looked in Eli's direction with a mischievous grin. "Oh my, does Eli find that funny?"

Before Eli could react, Nozomi grabbed Eli's arm with her hand and started tickling her with the other. "N-Nozomi! Stop, please!" Eli shouted, laughing so loud that others noticed them.

Nozomi looked at Nico and invited her to join. "Come on comrade! Get on her other side and grab her left arm!" Nico sat in her seat with a dumbfounded look for a moment, before deciding to join in on the fun. Who cares if others were looking at them? At least they were enjoying themselves.

* * *

 _"That was delicious!"_ Maki exclaimed, putting her hand on her belly with a content look. _"And there were no tangerines either."_ Umi responded, flashing Maki a wink. _"Come on, are you going to make fun of me with that for the rest of the day?"_

Umi laughed. _"I wonder if the others already finished their meal. Strange that it was only the two of us, usually Honoka and Rin eat at this hour as well."_ Maki looked at Umi with an annoyed expression. _"At least now that pesky Rin didn't steal my food like she always does!"_

 _"At least you have someone you can give your tangerines to."_ Maki groaned. _"Umi! Stop it!"_ Maki stepped closer to her right side and gently pinched her cheek. _"Alright, I'll stop."_

 _"That reminds me…didn't you say something about Yazawa earlier?"_ Maki asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible, but to Umi, who was already used to Maki's antics, it was obvious Maki was curious. _"You said she told you that I didn't like her."_

Umi nodded. _"She said you were very tough to deal with."_ Maki looked at her, raising an eyebrow. _"Is that all she said about me?"_ Umi smiled, and Maki knew there was more to this story. _"What did she say? Tell me."_

 _"Do you really want to know?"_ Maki nodded, accompanied by an expression so serious that it made Umi almost laugh. _"To quote her words, she said you are an annoying ginger who has no friends and you probably get your source of energy from being a butt to others and thinking you are actually cool."_

Maki looked so offended that Umi actually let out a laugh, which was very rare. _"What the hell?! Okay, I'll just let you know that Yazawa Nico is a stupid chipmunk who probably thinks she is smarter than everyone else. Like, have you seen her? When I first saw her I thought she was a grade schooler who got lost…"_

After Maki finished her seemingly endless monologue about Yazawa Nico, the two stopped in front of the library. _"You know what? Let's just not talk about her. Even the mention of her name makes me angry."_

Umi nodded. It was better that way, if she didn't want to listen to Maki rant about her all day. _"Let's check out the library. I might find a book that catches my interest."_ The two entered the large room. _"You still didn't give me a recommendation."_

Umi took a moment to think. Was there actually any book in her possession Maki hasn't read yet? _"How about some manga?"_ Maki looked at her curiously. _"Well, it's been a long time since I last read one…"_

 _"How about Koe no Katachi then? I heard it's pretty neat."_ Umi proposed, grabbing Maki's hand once again and leading her towards the library's manga section. _"What is it about? Don't tell me it's another sappy romantic manga again."_

 _"I don't know much about it. It's about a boy who bullies a girl in grade school. The two meet again in high school and fall in love. It sounds like a 'sappy romantic manga' but I heard it's not like that."_ Umi bent down to reach the 'K' section. Much to her delight the manga was there.

 _Eureka!_ Umi cheered internally, and grabbed the first two volumes. _"You know what? Since neither of us have read it before, how about reading it together? It would give us another topic to talk about."_ Maki's eyes lit up. _"Yeah!"_

If there was one thing Maki liked to make sure of when meeting new people, it was finding out whether they liked reading or not. Maybe it was her upbrining (the reason why many students called her snobbish and avoided her), but in her mind the hatred for books equalled a lack of intelligence.

She knew she was often wrong, though. Neither Honoka nor that annoying Rin liked to read, but those two were good at other things. When they had a cooking class, Maki often stood there in awe as she watched Rin and Honoka create delicious desserts, while it was a difficulty for her to memorize the right ingredients.

 _Although Honoka's parents own a sweets shop so it's easier for her,_ Maki mentally noted.

The reason why she liked Umi and Tsubasa was because both of them were so calm and quiet. You can just read a book with them and enjoy each other's company without a need for words. Reading books and manga together was a very popular activity for Maki and Umi.

 _"By the way Umi, where's Kotori? Isn't she usually hanging out at the library at this hour?"_ Maki asked, looking around one more time to check if Kotori really was not present. _"Their teacher was sick on Wednesday last week, so they are having the cooking class they missed today."_

 _"I see. It's a shame she won't be with us then."_ Umi put the two volumes on a nearby table. _"You can visit the cooking class and help her out if you want to."_ Maki groaned. _"Very funny."_

Maki sat down next to Umi and pulled her chair closer to hers. _"Let's see what this is about. The art looks good."_

* * *

"You two will get this back someday! Fear my revenge!" Eli threatened, half serious and half laughing.

Nico looked at the blonde girl with a sly smile. "Didn't expect Ms. Ice-cold to be so ticklish." Nico taunted, sticking out her tongue to tease Eli even further. "You too will regret this." Eli retorted, grabbing a pocky stick and throwing it in Nico's direction. "Hey!" Nico shouted, quickly leaning to the right to avoid the next stick coming her way.

"Eli, you are such a child." Nozomi stated calmly, sounding like a mother. "You too, Nico. I feel like a mother duck taking care of her two ducklings." Before she could continue her monologue, two sticks came flying in her direction.

"Alright alright, next question. Eli, what type of weather do you like?"

"I honestly prefer winter. I just love seeing the snow cover every morning, the snowmen built by the young kids, or the numerous Christmas figures scattered all across the city. I even love the way you can slip and fall on the icy road on your way to school."

"That reminds me, is what they say about Russian winters true? Have you ever been to Russia during winter?" Nico asked, curious. "It's always winter in Russia, Nico. At best there's no snow during the 'summer months', but it's always a bit cold."

"Sorry, Ms. Russia expert." Nico teased, earning a low groan from the blonde girl. "So yeah, I have been to Russia many times. In fact, I lived there with my family until I was twelve." Nico was surprised to hear that. Eli spoke with such a perfect Japanese accent and besides her natural blonde hair, she looked like any other Japanese girl.

"Wait, does that mean you've been living in Japan for just 3 years?" Eli nodded. "Yep. Although we used to visit Japan once every year, so it's not like I first stepped on Japanese ground when I was 12."

"And why did you come to Japan?" Nico asked.

"My parents divorced. Dad stayed in Russia, me, Alisa and mother came here." Eli answered casually. "Oh…I'm sorry."

Eli gave her a reassuring smile. "It's fine. We see father like two or three times a year."

"Still, to find out you've been only living here for three years is very unexpected. I mean, you and Nozomi act like people who are childhood friends." Nico stated, looking at Nozomi for a short second to see that for the first time in many minutes, Nozomi was listening with a serious expression.

"Haha, really? That's funny, we've only been friends since last year. We became friends in the first year of high school." Before Eli could continue, Nozomi took over. "Eli was even more overworked than she is now, and I volunteered to become her right-hand. It took a week or two to make her get used to the idea of no longer working alone."

Nozomi winked at Eli, earning a a small blush from the blonde girl. "It truly was strange. I didn't have any friends and most people thought I was unfriendly and cold, and then one day Nozomi was there, waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. She said, "Still refusing the company of others I see", and that's how we somehow became friends."

"Those were the first words she said to you? Sounds like something Nozomi would do." Nico stated, looking at Nozomi who knew exactly what Nico was talking about. Eli looked at the two with confusion, a bit annoyed that she didn't know what their secret was.

"What do you mean?" Eli asked, glancing at Nozomi with an accusing stare. "The first time we met, it was at the special school. Me and another girl were getting dressed in the showers, and the next second Nozomi steps out the showers butt naked and starts a conversation with me."

"Nozomi…" Is all Eli could respond with, although her icy glare directed at Nozomi was more effective than words. "Nico, you forgot the part where you and that girl were throwing cockroaches at each other." Nozomi retorted, trying to put the spotlight on Nico.

Eli was looking at Nico now. Her flabbergasted expression made Nozomi laugh. Her expression read 'what am I doing sitting with these weirdos'. "Hey, it was Rin throwing that disgusting roach at me! There's no way I'd ever touch that thing!"

"You two are strange." Eli stated, watching as her old friend and new friend continued bickering with each other.

* * *

"Mrs. Kawaguchi."

The woman turned back to see who was calling her name. It was Mrs. Kondou, the representative of the nurses. "Yes, Mrs. Kondou?" The woman asked, trying to sound formal, as she should sound when talking to someone of a higher standing, but she couldn't help feeling curious.

After all, it was rare to see Mrs. Kondou outside her office, even rarer to see her initiating conversation with one of the nurses. Usually, she'd print out everyone's duties on a sheet and go home before the nurses even started their morning shift.

"Mr. Nishikino called me just now. He said he wishes to see his daughter at the hospital as soon as possible." Mrs. Kondou, stated. "What's the occasion?" Kawaguchi asked, curious why the Nishikinos bothered the school again.

"The usual monthly check-up. He said there'll be too many patients today, that's why he wants to run the check-up before he gets too busy." Kawaguchi sighed. She really, really didn't like the Nishikinos. One would think the father wants to see his daughter so urgently because of fatherly love, but no, it's because they have too many patients and won't have free time to check on their own daughter later…

"But Mrs. Kondou, Mr. Kenichiro already said that Nishikino Maki is no longer allowed to leave the school as she pleases. Her behaviour already caused too much trouble, and her condition, no matter how good it is compared to other students', still makes it dangerous to let her roam around town without someone looking after her.

Kondou shot her a glare. For a moment Kawaguchi wondered if she saw it wrong because of the glasses covering Kondou's yes, but no, she was sure it was a glare… "I don't care what Kenichiro says, Mr. Nishikino wishes to see his daughter today and we cannot ignore his wishes.

"But Mrs. Kondou…"

"Do I have to remind you that Mr. Nishikino is our greatest benefactor? I don't care if the Nishikino girl needs guidance, get her someone to accompany her then!" Kondou retorted, her tone sounding unfriendly and preachy at the same time. With a sigh, Kawaguchi admitted defeat.

"Alright, Mrs. Kondou. I'll make sure to fulfill Mr. Nishikino's wish."

Kondou smiled in a way only real bosses can. Kawaguchi hated smiles like that. Only people who get everything and never face opposition smiled like that. "Thank you very much, Mrs. Kawaguchi."

* * *

 _"So, what's your opinion so far?"_

Maki carefully put the two books under her arm. _"It's alright, although some of the drama feels forced."_ Umi hummed. _"What about it is forced? I thought it was pretty well-written and devoid of any unneeded drama."_

 _"I don't know. Some parts just feel unrealistic. Like the part with the deaf girl…"_

Before Maki could finish, she spotted Mrs. Kawaguchi in the distance. "Oh, it's Mrs. Kawaguchi."

"Hey girls. Leaving the library already?" Kawaguchi teased. Those two bookworms always spent hours at the library. "We wanted to read a manga together and it's better to do that in Umi's room. It's more comfortable that way."

 _"What do you need, Mrs. Kawaguchi?"_ Umi asked, curious about the sudden appearance of the nurse. Usually she only appeared after 4PM, she was the nurse who was responsible for taking care of the students when they went to the forest.

 _"Your father called us, Maki."_ At the word 'father', Maki's body stiffened. _"He wants to see you at the hospital as soon as possible."_

 _"There's one problem though. We can't let you leave the school's premises without someone to look after you. Who knows what might happen to you."_ Kawaguchi tried to pat Maki's head like she always did but Maki pulled her head away from her hand.

"Tell him I won't go, then!" Maki responded, sounding angry. Umi stood next to her, not knowing what to do. She couldn't understand what Maki was saying, after all. But she could tell her friend was in a very bad mood.

 _"Calm down, Maki."_ Umi tried to ease the situation, but Maki didn't listen to her. "I'm tired of him and my mother calling me in like I'm their employee! I'm their daughter, damn it!" Kawaguchi looked around. The few people in the hallway were staring at them.

"Maki, please calm down. We'll just find someone to go with you then." Maki stomped with her foot. "I don't want to go! If it's so important he should come here instead!"

"Maki, don't put me in a difficult position." Kawaguchi said, putting her hands on Maki's shoulders. Maki stared at her with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry." Kawaguchi patted her head. "It's fine. Come on, let's go to the instructor. Ask him what we should do."

Kawaguchi walked forward, leaving Maki and Umi behind to follow her. Umi stared at her friend with a sad expression. _"Maki, what happened?"_

Maki sighed. _"I'm always causing problems for everyone."_

* * *

"Aaand…next question. Nico, what do you think of boys? The boys from your class, especially." Nozomi asked, leaning closer to Nico with that teasing smirk of hers. Nico groaned.

"What am I supposed to think? They are alright, I guess." Nozomi shook her head. "No Nico, that's not what I meant. Do you find them cool? Sexy? Fun?" Nozomi leaned even closer. Too close for Nico's tastes, so she pushed Nozomi's invading face backwards with her hand.

"Cool? Man, have you seen them? They all think they look cool and act like they are the kings of the school. They are not cool at all. Sexy? Nah. Fun? I dunno. Never spent much time with them."

Nozomi smiled. "Perhaps you have a negative opinion on them because you don't know them at all?" Nico felt offended. Was Nozomi implying Nico was one of the girls who judged people from afar? "Yeah? I bet the mighty Nozomi is an expert on the topic of boys as well? What do **you** think about them?"

Eli looked curious now as well. "By the way, why are only the two of us getting questions? Shouldn't you answer some as well?" The two girls leaned closer to Nozomi, with the same teasing look she always had.

"Hmmm…what do I think? I think they are cute, somewhat." Nico groaned. "What's cute about them?" Nozomi smiled. "I dunno. They are just cute."

"That's not a sufficient answer. Eli, shall we throw her out the window?" Eli nodded. The two stood up and grabbed Nozomi. "Fine, how about another question?" The two sat back. Nico took the opportunity.

"Fine, I'll ask. What's with you and your cards? When did you start this whole card business and why?" Nico asked, genuinely curious. If there was one thing Nico really wanted to know about her (and she didn't really want to know much about Nozomi, afraid of what she'd find out…), it was her fondness for occult stuff.

Nozomi looked out the window. "I guess I just have a fondness for these kinds of things."

"That's not enough for an explanation." Nico noted, wanting to find out the true reason behind Nozomi's actions. People aren't just born with a fondness for these kinds of things. People aren't born as lolitas, even if that one strange girl on the streets told Nico she was born that way long ago…

There's always a reason.

Unfortunately, Nico will not find out the reason today. The voice on the bus announced the next destination, which was where they were supposed to get off. "Let's get ready." Eli said, and the three grabbed their bags.

* * *

"What should we do?" Kawaguchi asked the instructor, the only person who could help them in this situation.

"This is a very tough situation indeed. All nurses are on duty now and the teachers are busy as well, so there's no one to accompany Maki." The instructor stood up, walking up and down like that would solve the problem.

Umi and Maki stood there, wondering what will come out of this situation. So far, it seems like the outcome will be…nothing.

"Can't you get their chauffeur?" The instructor asked, but Kawaguchi shook her head. "I asked Maki already. The chauffeur is absent since last week, his child got ill and he has to take care of him."

The instructor sighed. "Can't we just get a taxi for her?" Kawaguchi disagreed even more vehemently. "There's no way I'd let Maki go with a random taxi driver. It's too dangerous."

"Can't we call Mr. Nishikino and tell him Maki cannot go today?" Kawaguchi proposed, but her idea was met with a laugh from the instructor. "Let's just call one of the richest men of Tokyo and tell him to piss off. Sounds like a splendid idea."

"The hospital is not that far away, are you sure we can't let Maki go by herself?" The instructor asked. "No. Unfortunately, the principal no longer allows her to be on her own outside. If he finds out we'll be in big trouble."

Maki let out an annoyed sigh. "I can go by myself. We'll just tell the janitor to keep quiet and no one will find out." Umi stood next to her, still not having any idea what was going on. She hated when she had to use lip reading. She was bad at it, and they were talking so fast!

"No. I won't let you go alone. It's dangerous." Maki groaned. "Why did you allow me to go alone before, then? Is it because the principal's stupid new idea? Is it so dangerous because you are afraid of going against him?" Maki retorted, finally letting out everything she's been meaning to say these past weeks.

Kawaguchi sighed. "It's not that. You know I care about you. With the scandal going on, it'd be too careless to let you go alone. Who knows what those protesters might do to you." _Disgusting idiots, all of them._ Kawaguchi really hated those protesters. Why did they have to be so rude to Maki?

She was just a child, what her parents may or may not have done isn't her fault. But of course these idiots didn't care about that. They had no logic of their own, they just followed the person behind this whole scandal like sheep.

"I don't care about those stupid protesters! I'm not going to run away from them!" Maki shouted.

Before the situation could get any worse the door opened, and three familiar faces stepped inside.

"Oh…Did we come at the wrong time?" Nozomi asked, curious about the situation in front of her. "No, we were just…discussing some things. Come inside." The instructor said. Eli, Nico and Nozomi all walked in.

Nico looked around. There was the instructor, that nurse who led her to the library on her second day. And then there was Umi and…Maki?

Nico met Maki's gaze, who was looking at her with a less than welcoming expression. _Geez, I haven't even said anything to her and she is like that already._

Nico slowly stepped closer to Umi, the only person Nico trusted in the room, and slowly asked. _"What the hell is going on here? All of you are standing there like statues frozen in one place."_

Umi quietly took the phone out from her pockets and wrote down her response quickly. _"It's about Maki." About Maki…_ Nico groaned. _"She has to go to her parents but she isn't allowed to leave the premises without someone to look after her. And the problem is…there is no one to accompany her."_

Nico looked at the two adults who were discussing something Nico didn't care about. Then she looked at Maki, who was just staring at the floor and stood there awkwardly. Even a fool could see she was very uncomfortable.

Nico knew her type. The type of person who hates being the center of attention but at the same time wants someone to care about her. Right now she must feel guilty for causing such a big problem but at the same time feeling sad that there is no one to help her.

Unless…

 _No, Nico, don't._ Nico mentally warned herself, but it was too late. Her legs were already moving forward. _Sigh…I'm going to regret this, aren't I?_

Nico stepped in front of the instructor, and opened her mouth to speak.

"I'll go with her."

A minute of silence followed. Nico stood there like the hero from movies who is ready to face a serious situation, although she definitely looked a hundred times more awkward than that…

The instructor contemplated this idea for a minute. Nozomi was winking at her and whispering "good job Nico" from behind, loud enough for Nico to hear. Umi was looking at her proudly and Nico felt very, very awkward.

Maki's expression was the moment of the day. Nico has never seen so many emotions in one place at the same time. Anger, shyness, awkwardness, sadness, happiness and an expression that read "I'm gonna kill you".

 _This was a bad idea._

"Actually, on second thought…" It was too late. Kawaguchi grabbed her hand and looked at her with a touched expression. "Thank you so much, Nico." Nico stared back with confusion. "I uhh…"

"Alright. Nico will accompany Maki on her way, then." The instructor said, happy this whole situation was over.

"Great." Nico said, resigned to her fate.

* * *

"Why do we have to use public transportation?" Nico asked.

"Because we shouldn't waste the school's funds when the tram is just fine?" Maki responded, annoyed.

"Aren't you rich or something? You can pay for a damn taxi, can't you?" Nico retorted, getting more and more tired of this situation with each passing minute.

"Stop whining."

"I'm not whining."

"You are." Nico groaned. The two have been waiting for the tram for 15 minutes. "Geez, why did I agree to go with you?" Nico asked, although the question was directed at herself. _Why did I agree to this, really?_

"Shut up. Look, the tram is coming." Maki pointed at the right direction. They grabbed their bags and got ready. For a moment Maki looked back at Nico. "Do you think the tram has stairs or is it the modern type?" Maki asked out of the blue.

"Why does it matter?" Nico asked, curious. Some trams, usually the older builds, had two or three steps in front of the entrance, while the modern ones didn't. But why did that matter? "Nevermind." Maki responded, leaving Nico to wonder about the question.

The tramway finally arrived. Maki was the first to get on. Nico noticed that the girl had some troubles getting up. She was already off-balance because of her crippled leg, and the bag she carried with her only made things worse. _Oh, so that's why she asked about the steps._

After struggling for a few seconds Maki finally made it, and Nico quickly followed. The two sat down at one of the empty spots. They were lucky they had somewhere to sit, considering how crowded the tram was.

Maki looked around with a worried expression. It was impossible not to notice. "What's with you?" Nico asked, and Maki quickly turned back. "What do you mean?"

"You are looking at the passengers like they are aliens ready to kidnap you." Nico explained, earning an offended look from Maki. "I just don't like crowded places, okay?" Maki looked down sheepishly. Perhaps taunting her like that wasn't the best idea…

"It's fine. I don't really like crowded places either." Nico stated, trying to sound reassuring. "It's just…I always think people see me walking like that and laughing at me behind my back. It has happened many times before."

"Don't worry, people are too busy and tired to notice a girl walking with a limp. Besides, if there's one thing to notice about you, it would be your red hair." Nico stated, and although she actually didn't intend to insult Maki for her hair, Maki misunderstood.

"At least people notice me. You are so small they have to look down to notice you!" Maki retorted, taunting Nico with her only weakness, her height. "Oh yeah? Look at you! Your hair is so out of place you don't have to wear a visibility vest at night because your hair does a better job!"

* * *

The tram announced the next destination will be the Nishikino Private Hospital. The two got ready to get off. Before Maki could reach her bag, Nico grabbed it instead. "Hey, what are you doing?" Maki asked, annoyed.

"I'll carry it for you. Let's go." Before Maki could object Nico walked forward and quickly walked down the stairs. Maki followed behind, only stopping when she reached the stairs. Nico held out her hand. "Come on, grab onto me."

At first Maki felt like objecting, but she decided it was better to do as told. "Thanks." Maki said sheepishly. "Anyways, why are we visiting your parents?" Nico changed the topic. "It's for my monthly check-up. My parents always check if the condition of my leg got better."

"I see." The two made their way towards the entrance. The place was crowded with protesters. Nico stopped when she noticed that Maki has stopped walking. "What's the matter?" Nico knew exactly what was going on, but they had to get inside somehow.

"Let's wait until some of them go away." Maki proposed, but Nico instantly rejected that idea. She grabbed the redhead's hand and made her way towards the entrance. "No way that's happening! I'm not going to sit back and watch as these assholes ruin your day!"

Just before Nico could enter the hospital, one of the protesters stepped out of the crowd, right next to Maki. Nico heard him say something distasteful to the redhead, although Nico didn't know what he exactly said. But she didn't care. Enough was enough.

Nico let out a frustrated groan and turned back. With full force, she pushed the man out of Maki's way. The man fell on his ass. "Go back to the other idiots, you greasy cunt!" With that, Nico grabbed Maki's hand again and the two entered the hospital.

* * *

"Wow, this place looks cool!" Nico exclaimed.

After the two talked with the receptionist (or rather, Maki talked with her since they knew each other, Nico was completely ignored…) they were told to wait for Mr. Nishikino on the second floor.

"I don't see what's so cool about it…" Maki replied sheepishly, playing with her hair. Of course she wouldn't find this place amazing, she was used to it and visited the hospital almost every second day.

The place was equipped with the most modern equipment there is, and there were comfy sofas and armchairs made of the highest quality leather everywhere. In front of every sofa was a huge television and several magazines to cater to the visitors' needs.

Maki sat down in one of the sofas. Nico sat down next to her. The two sat in silence for a minute or two before Nico spoke up. "Those protesters are crazy." Maki stiffened. Nico chose the wrong topic to talk about. "I hate them, all of them."

"You should just ignore them. But don't run away from them. If you do, they'll think they won." Maki hummed. "I know. But it's so hard to stand your ground when you are alone."

"What about your parents? Why don't they send these idiots away?" Nico asked. "My parents said I shouldn't care about them. They don't care about them nor the rumors they spread either."

"When did this whole thing start? I remember seeing the protesters last week as well." Nico was curious. When did things start and why? From what she could recall the Nishikinos were always a well respected family with a clean reputation.

"About one or two months ago. I still don't know what happened. One day an anonymous person released an open letter in a popular newspaper about how my parents and and the school I go to are corrupt and make deals behind the people's back."

"And no one knows who sent the letter? Or why?" Maki shook her head. "No one knows. At best people are guessing the person behind it is a former worker who got kicked out and seeks revenge. But of course all of that is just speculation."

Nico always dreamt of being rich. How it would feel like? How much easier her life would be? Her mother would no longer have to work herself to over-exhaustion every day and her siblings would no longer cry in front of a toy store when Nico tells them they cannot afford the toy they want.

But at the same time, would money make her happy? If the Nishikino scandal is anything to go by, then money comes with huge problems as well. As she looks at Maki, she is reminded of what she has, and what the redhead doesn't.

She isn't rich, but she has a family who would do everything for her. When one of the boys in her class threw a ball in her face out of malice and her left eye was purple because of it, her little brother threatened to beat the boy half dead with a baseball bat…

But Maki obviously has no one to rely on. No one with the power to change things, at least. Sure she has Tsubasa and Umi, and that pesky nurse (Kawaguchi, was it?), but they can't do anything. Her parents, who could do something, refuse to act for some reason.

 _Wait a second…Why aren't her parents doing anything?_

 _Could it be…_

"Nico…" Nico suddenly came back to reality. "Uh, yes?" She looked at Maki who had the face of a sad puppy. "Do you think all of this will be over?" Maki asked, ashamed to be so vulnerable in front of her.

"It will be over sooner or later." Nico stated, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

"You promise?"

 _Huh?_

"I promise." _No you shouldn't, you idiot._ "I'll do everything to make this end."

 _What the hell am I doing again?_

Maki stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. In a few seconds her face got completely red, just like her hair. "Thank you." Is all she could say, but the lack of words didn't matter to Nico because the smile the girl had on her face was more than enough to make her feel determined.

"Oh, if it isn't my Maki!" A male voice came from the right side. Nico looked in that direction to see a tall man with auburn hair standing there. He looked like the male version of the girl sitting next to Nico.

"Daddy!" Maki jumped up and gave her father a big hug. Her father laughed. "Calm down baby. Oh, and who is this girl with you?" The man pointed at Nico but strangely, Nico didn't feel scared nor awkward. The man seemed friendly.

She honestly didn't expect Mr. Nishikino to be…like this. So warm and welcoming. The media painted a different picture of him. Nico always though he'd be cold and bossy, like those rich men and gangsters from TV shows.

"Oh! She is my…" Before Maki could finish she abruptly stopped. "She is a volunteer from the school! Her duty was to look after me today." Maki stated, matter of factly.

"I see. Nice to meet you." The two shook hands. It was a strange moment. Such a tall man shaking hands with a girl half his size. "I'm Nishikino Makoto, Maki's father. You can call me Mako."

 _Mako?_ "Ah…Nice to meet you sir! I'm Yazawa Nico, Maki's friend!" At the word 'friend' Maki blushed. "She is not my friend!" Maki retorted, but she was ignored. "Dad, she is not my friend! She is lying!"

But her father only laughed. "Come on, let's get you two to the medical checkup room. Since you were kind enough to look after Maki, you might as well get a free check-up from us. First-rate service from the best hospital of Japan! How does that sound?"

Mr. Nishikino was already walking forward while the two girls stood there, frozen in place, wondering what just happened right now. "Your father is surprisingly nice." Nico noted.

"Y-yeah." Maki replied. The two quickly catched up to her father. While Mr. Nishikino discussed something with his assistant inside, Nico took her chance and poked Maki's side. "Oww. What do you want?"

Nico smiled. "If you are Maki, your father is Mako, does that mean your mother is Maka?" Nico asked, content with herself. However, her question only earned a smack on her head.

* * *

"Alright girls, get inside." Mr. Nishikino opened the door in front of them. "First, let's check Nico out. Please sat down on that table."

Nico did as told. "Now, please remove your shirt. The bra can stay." Nico nodded and followed his orders. Maki's presence didn't really bother her, she was already used to undressing in front of others in school. But Maki was clearly unused to that, since she looked away, embarrassed.

"I'll listen to your heartbeat first." Mr. Nishikino put the ice cold stethoscope on Nico's chest, in front of her heart. "I see…"

He looked at Nico with a serious expression. "Alright, now hold your breath for ten seconds and then let it out." Nico did as told. "Okay."

After he was done, Mr. Nishikino stood up. He looked dead serious. "Nico, I think there is a problem with your heart. Your heart rate is very slow." Nico gulped. "And what does that mean, doctor?"

"That means…that you've been pranked."

 _What._

"Uhh…?" Nico looked at Maki who was just as confused as her.

"Relax, I was just joking. Everything is fine with your heart. You can get dressed now." He turned towards Maki now. "Maki, it's your turn."

Maki nodded and stepped closer. She grabbed her shirt but before she would start undressing, she looked at Nico. Her father noticed Maki was feeling uncomfortable. "Oh…Nico, can you please wait for Maki outside. She is a bit shy, you see."

"O-of course!" Nico replied, and she exited the room as quickly as possible. Hopefully no one saw the blush on her face…

After Nico finally calmed down, she decided she might as well check out the hospital while Maki was busy. Her check-up must take a longer time than hers…

As expected, the other parts of the hospital were just as luxurious and noble as everything else. Nico wondered how they could afford all of this. Well, the Nishikinos own like a whole chain of hospitals all across the country, so it's not like bits of furniture was a big deal for them.

As much as Nico liked this hospital, she still couldn't help feeling unwell inside. The hospital reminded her of another place, a place she visited long ago and wanted to forget…

The third floor was just as beautiful and modern and as the other two. The following couple of floors were as well. Nico no longer knew which floor she was on at this point, she lost count long ago. Much to her surprise, she saw nobody on this floor.

What was even more surprising? There was not a single patient there. There were many rooms for patients but not a single soul inside them. The whole floor felt dead. Nico was reminded of that memory, of that day even more.

Before she could turn around and walk back, a distant noise coming from one of the rooms stopped her. Against her better judgement, Nico followed this faint sound. The more closer she got, the louder she could hear it. After she was close enough, she could finally hear that the voice belonged to a woman.

Nico didn't dare peek inside, but she stopped just outside the door, close enough to hear the conversation.

 _"What are we going to do now?"_

 _"We'll continue our original plan. There's no other option."_

 _"But things got too risky! I can no longer just enter the school as I please."_

 _What the hell are they talking about?_ Nico asked from herself. She walked a bit closer to hear the words more clearly.

 _"We have no other choice."_

 _"That damn Nishikino girl! She ruined everything."_

 _"Not completely. She might've found a vial, but they have no idea where it came from or what it means."_

 _"Mrs. Nishikino already suspects something is going on."_

 _"As long as we aren't caught, everything is fine."_

Before Nico could hear the last bits of the conversation, she accidentally leaned too close to the door, and it creaked. Nico didn't know what was going on on the other side, but the sudden silence was enough to make her realize she should run.

So she ran, as fast as she could. She heard the door open behind her, but luckily she was too far away to be noticed. She quickly got inside the elevator and pushed the buttons like a madman. She was scared. She heard quick steps getting closer and closer, but thankfully the elevator closed in time.

 _What…What the hell was that?_

When the elevator opened, Nico was ready to rush towards Mr. Nishikino's location. Unfortunately she ran into a nurse who was standing in front of the elevator.

"Ow…" Nico put a hand on her head, which hurt from the collision.

"Are you alright?" The nurse asked, grabbing Nico's hand and helping her up. "Yeah…thank you." Before Nico could walk away, the nurse grabbed her arm. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing on Floor X?"

Nico looked at the nurse, confused. "Floor X?" The nurse shook her head. "A clueless kid always finds their way to that floor, but of course Mr. Nishikino doesn't listen to me when I tell him we should put guards there."

"That floor is currently off-limits since it's undergoing renovations. No one, not even staff members are allowed to go there, unless you get a pass from Mr. or Mrs. Nishikino." The nurse stated, not bothering to pay attention to Nico who was still very much confused.

"Long story short, don't go there." Nico apologized. "I'm sorry miss, it won't happen again."

After the nurse finally let her go, Nico slowly made her way towards the medical checkup room. _Strange, I didn't see even the smallest sign that it was undergoing renovations. The floor looked completely normal, minus the lack of people thing._

 _But what were those two people doing there? What were they talking about?_

Nico sighed. Looks like that mystery will be solved another day.

* * *

Nico could see Maki and her father in the distance. Were they waiting for her already? Was she gone for so long?

"Nico! Where did you go?" Maki asked curiously. "I explored the hospital. I hope it's not a problem." Mr. Nishikino shook his head. "Not at all. Did you like it?" _Besides the mysterious "Floor X", yes,_ Nico thought to herself, but she didn't say that out loud of course.

 _It's better not to tell these two about it._

"Yeah, this hospital is pretty cool!" Nico exclaimed, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. Thankfully it looked like neither of the two noticed anything wrong about her. "I'm glad you liked it! Oh...and I wouldn't mind you accompanying Maki always from now on. You seem like a reliable person, Nico."

 _You are a reliable person, Nico._

Nico stiffened. It was time she'd stopped thinking about that. "T-thank you, Mr. Nishikino."

The man smiled. "Anyways, it's getting a bit dark outside, I'd say it's about time you two go back to DMHS." The two girls nodded. They made their way to the bottom floor all the while casually chatting with each other.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Maki, come with me!" Maki looked at her father questioningly. "Your mother baked you some cookies." Maki blushed and motioned her father to be more quiet. "Dad, not so loud!"

The two entered a room which Nico guessed was someone's office, and Nico decided it was time to explore this floor as well. _Can't be worse than Floor X…_

 _Who names something "Floor X", anyways? Sounds like something from a bad apocalypse movie…_

Nico walked through the long hallways and checked in some of the rooms. She stopped in front of a room, which was open. Inside there was a middle aged man who looked like he was sleeping (or was he comatose?), and a young boy was sitting next to his bed.

 _You promised you'd never leave me!_

Nico quickly walked away. No, it was not the time to be thinking about that.

The next room that caught her interest reminded her of a more recent memory. There was a familiar name written on the sign, with upper-case letters.

"113 - UEDA KANA"

"Oh…"

* * *

 **Chapter 8 in which the plot thickens so much it's almost as thick as Rock Lee's eyebrows.**

 **Maki asked Tsubasa if her hair was good because Maki is a dumb tomato and she blurted that out without thinking.**

 **I was very busy these past two weeks since autumn break was coming up and the teachers always make us write exams before breaks.**

 **Biology exams are scary. For emphasis look up "DNA formula" in Google. And try to draw it down from memory.**

 **Anyways I'm glad so many of you are enjoying my story! As a reward this chapter is officially the longest with 10k words without my notes.**

 **Reviews and criticism are welcome!**


	9. Chapter 9

"What should I do?" Nico asked herself.

She felt weird, standing in front of this door. Visiting people in the hospital was not a new thing to her; she visited her grandmother numerous times after her sudden collapse 5 years ago. She stills remembers that day, and how much her grandmother scared her.

Luckily, her grandmother could be saved. The situation was serious though, cerebral haemorrhaging, or something. Nico wasn't sure what the doctors meant by that back then, and she's not sure she understands even now.

And then there was _him_ too. And then her mother. No matter how many times Nico told her to slow down and relax, her mother just wouldn't listen. Especially not after _he_ was gone. To Nico it always seemed like her mother's work-obsessed behaviour worsened because she wanted to escape from their apartment. She didn't want to be reminded of _him_ every hour of the day.

Nico and her siblings were playing around with toys when they heard a loud crash. They quickly rushed to the kitchen where they saw their mother lying on the floor. Their first reaction was to scream simultaneously.

Nico was scared shitless of course, but she couldn't panic in front of the three little ones. They were even worse at handling extraordinary situations like this, after all. So after 2-3 curses later (which she hoped her siblings didn't hear, or at least didn't understand), Nico rushed to the faucet, got a bottle of water, and poured all of it on her mother's face.

Good thing Nico learned how to act around an unconscious person in school. She never would've thought it would ever become useful, but guess what, life is full of surprises.

Nico then gathered all her strength and turned her still unconscious mother on her side. She then finally grabbed the phone and dialed 112. 5 minutes and a stupid dispatcher later, Nico finally gave her address and her mother's current status to the ambulance.

During the wait that lasted only 9 minutes but felt like 9 years, Nico constantly checked her mother's breathing. Meanwhile her siblings were still crying and hopelessly calling their mother's name, which didn't make Nico's situation any better.

"Sigh. What a stupid day that was." It'd be a lie to say she wasn't sentimental about the whole ordeal or that she didn't cry when her mother woke up at the hospital. "She could've died if it wasn't for me." And she also liked to brag about her heroic act that day.

Well, if she is standing right here she might as well enter, right? Or maybe she shouldn't bother her? It's not like they were close friends or something like that. She really doesn't know anything about Ueda.

And when Nico actually thinks about it, hospital rooms are really not fun. They all smell the same. The kind of smell your brain is hardwired to perceive as repulsive. Something you should avoid. Similar to the smell at the dentist's.

Nico knows these rooms are not bad, they exist to let people heal after all, but she can't help but feel anxious whenever she has to enter one. If she has the option, she'd rather avoid one, to be honest. She also avoids doctors as much as she can. If she is sick then she'd rather stay at home and cure herself than let a doctor with her nasty white gloves…

"Can I help you?"

Nico is so far up in her memories and ramblings she doesn't notice the woman standing right next to her, most likely trying to enter the room in which Nico is standing in front of. The woman's voice sounds a bit cold and a bit too neutral, so she winces a little bit.

"Oh, I umm…" Nico mutters, which doesn't help her situation at all. She only realizes now that she has been standing in front of this door for 3 minutes, like a true idiot. No wonder this woman is giving her the stink eye.

The woman steps closer to her and Nico winces again, but thankfully the lady only asks another question. "Do you know her?" She asks, with the same neutral tone that creeps Nico out. "Uhh, know who?"

The lady turns her head away and looks at the door. For a second, her neutral expression is replaced with a forlorn look. "Kana, of course. You are standing in front of her room." She then turns back to Nico with a questioning look.

Nico panics for a second. She cannot tell this woman she is just standing there for no reason, right? She really doesn't want to make an ass out of herself again. "I'm her friend!" Nico blurts out, surprising the woman for a second.

For a second the woman looks at her with a raised eyebrow that makes Nico feel as awkward as humanly possible. But then, the lady's sour expression is replaced by a permanent smile. And when she opens her mouth to speak again, her tone sounds much friendlier. "Oh! I didn't know a friend was going to visit her today!"

The woman puts her hands together, which definitely is an overreaction in Nico's opinion. "Then, why not come in? I'm Kana's mother, by the way." Before Nico could object, the woman grabs the door handle. Before opening the door, the woman looks at her again.

"You won't believe how happy she'll be to see you!" She exclaims.

 _Great, what do I do now?_ Nico thinks. She is 101% sure Ueda will be freaked out when she sees Nico, a girl she doesn't even know, claiming to be her "friend". Also, Nico really, really doesn't want to enter any hospital room right now. No repulsive hospital smell, no doctors with sterile gloves, no sick people….

"Wait!" Nico shouts, a bit louder than she should've. The woman turns around in surprise and gives her that questioning look again. "I'm…not actually her friend." Nico explains. The woman raises her eyebrows again, this time much higher. _Great, she definitely thinks I'm a creep now._

"Then what are you doing here?" The woman asks. Nico takes a deep breath. She might as well explain the actual situation before things get even worse. "I'm…just a schoolmate. I heard of Ueda's accident as well and kind of…felt bad. I visited the hospital with a friend today and accidentally found her room. Thought I'd drop by." Nico looks at the nameplate again. "I'm sorry."

The two stand there awkwardly in suffocating silence until the woman speaks up. "You can come in if you want. I'm sure Ueda will be happy, even if you two don't really know each other." Nico silently nods, and the woman opens the door.

* * *

"Dad. Are you serious?"

The man continued his search through the room. Under the desks, inside the lockers, on top of the lockers… "Just give me another minute, Maki." The girl sighs, in the sissy way that annoys Nico and everyone else who hates her.

Her father continues his search for the holy grail, even though both of them know he won't find it. They have been searching for it for the past 5 minutes, and the room is so small…

Maki sighs again. To emphasize her annoyance even more, she stomps with her foot. Her father chooses to ignore her but gives up his search seconds later, finally deeming it a lost cause.

"I think the cookies are in my office." Mr. Nishikino states matter of factly, trying to look as cool as possible. Maki doesn't appreciate it.

"And you only came to the realization now?" She asks, and her father only gives a sheepish smile in return. "I was sure your mother put the cookies here this morning, but some staff member probably thought it was better to bring them to my office."

Maki grunts and twirls her hair in annoyance. "Why are the cookies so important anyways? It's not like I'm going to starve to death without them." _And I don't feel hungry at all,_ Maki says to herself. "Besides, if I was hungry I can just ask the cook to make me something. Anything, for that matter."

Her father steps closer and pats her head. "You always complain about your mother neglecting you, and when she actually spends so much time for you you act like an entitled princess." Her father laughs.

Maki mutters something under her breath which her father doesn't hear. "Whatever. Let's get her cookies and get over with it." Before Mr. Nishikino can answer Maki storms out the room.

"Hey, not so fast!" He shouts, half jokingly.

* * *

When she enters, the first thing she sees is whiteness. It's always whiteness. Everything is white, the walls, the equipment, the bed, even the clothes of the patient.

In the middle of this whiteness is a young girl with black hair. Both of her legs are in plaster, but everywhere else she seems fine and healthy. She has an unreadable blank expression. Her face doesn't change much when she notices the two.

Kana looks at the familiar face first, her mother. She visits her almost daily (not like she has anything better to do) so her presence has become the norm. Her mother smiles at her (she always does), but Kana just looks away.

She looks at the unexpected visitor next. At first she doesn't recognize her and only wonders what a stranger is doing here. Then she finally remembers the girl from school. Still doesn't explain why she's here.

Her mother stands there a bit dumbfounded. She thought her daughter would've been happy to see one of her schoolmates, but Kana's expression didn't change. It's true she has been quite sour and moody ever since _that day_ but she sincerely hoped a new visitor would make her a bit happy…Or a bit less moody at least.

"Kana, she is from Otonoki too. She said she wanted to visit you." Her mother states, trying to sound as nice as possible. Kana looks at Nico with a smug expression. "Is that so?"

Nico doesn't know what to make of that expression, or the cynical tone aimed at her. Perhaps she really came at the wrong time? "Uhh, yeah. Everyone's been talking about you since the day of the accident, and I just wanted to check how you were doing."

Kana's doubtful expression doesn't change. She doesn't seem to care too much about what Nico has to say. Her mother notices the strange atmosphere, although she doesn't really understand why her daughter is being so cold today. She opens her bag and takes out some chocolate bars.

"I brought you your favourite. I know you already ate the ones I gave you two days ago." She puts the chocolate bars on the small table next to Kana and smiles at her. Kana smiles back, but her smile feels forced.

"Thanks, mom."

Suddenly, her mother's phone rings, and the woman quickly tells the two that it's an important call and she should go outside. Before leaving the room she gives an encouraging look to Nico. The "I know she is hopeless, but try to find something to talk about" kind.

Nico looks at the girl in bed again. Kana motions her to sit down on the chair next to the bed. Nico follows her orders and quickly sits down. Her legs no longer feel sour after all that standing, but now she feels even worse being so close to a girl she barely even knows.

 _Jesus, even Maki was better than this._

"Did they finally send someone to shut me up?" Kana suddenly blurts out.

Nico only looks at her, dumbfounded. She has no idea what this girl is talking about.

"What are you talking about?"

Kana stares into her eyes with the smug look she had earlier. "Don't play this game with me. I know _she_ or her goons sent you." Kana suddenly grabs one of those chocolate bars her mother bought her and removes the packing.

Nico takes a deep, agonizing breath. "Look. I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. We are not friends by any means but you have seen me in school enough to know that I'm not part of any group and I have no idea what goons you are speaking of."

Kana looks into her eyes again, but Nico holds her gaze this time. The girl looks away with a defeated look. "Fine, I believe you. But why are you here, really?"

"Wow, let's not go so fast. First of all, who the hell is _she_?" Nico asks, eager to unveil this mystery…the 3rd mystery she has gotten herself into in a single day. Quite an achievement.

Kana looks at her nervously. "Let's just drop the topic…" Nico shakes her head. "C'mon, if you accused me unjustly I demand an explanation." Nico points her finger at the girl for added dramatic effect.

The girl looks away nervously again. She stares at the walls for seconds before turning back to Nico. "Kagura, of course."

 _Who?_

"What Ka-"

Their conversation is cut short by Kana's mother. She returns to the scene nonchalantly, quickly noticing the friendlier atmosphere. _I knew things would go well!_

"Sorry about that." The woman sits down next to Nico. Her daughter looks at her suspiciously. "What was that call about?"

"It's…" The woman looks at Nico nervously before continuing. "…It's the company. Apparently they really liked my application and wish to interview me tomorrow." The lady smiles proudly at her daughter who only frowned in return.

"Not like it's the 100th time I'm hearing this story." Kana says with a hint of malice in her voice. She looks straight into her mother's eyes. Her mother looks down to avoid her daughter's gaze.

"I'm trying my best…"

Kana only groans in response. "Maybe you are not trying hard enough!"

Her mother knows better than to respond with excuses. They argued about this topic a lot already. Instead, she turns towards Nico. "So, have any questions to ask? I'm sure Kana would gladly answer them."

Nico looks at mother and daughter but chooses to ignore the strange air between them. "First I wanted to ask if you are feeling better?" She asks with a hint of concern in her voice, and hopes Kana won't think she is just acting like she's interested.

Because for the first time since forever she was actually interested.

Kana looks at her two injured legs for a short second. "I'm feeling much better, thanks. I thought the pain would be a lot worse, but thankfully I was wrong."

"And do you think you'll be able to walk again?" Nico asks impulsively, because this is the question she is the most curious about, but she regrets it immediatelly. Both Kana and her mother look away from her with a saddened expression.

"I…I don't think I will." Kana blurts out. In a few seconds she regains her composure and her blank, neutral attitude returns.

* * *

"Nico is not answering to my texts."

Nozomi pokes Eli's side to get her attention. Her blonde friend is currently busy reading one of her textbooks. What a strange girl, studying even when her dear best friend comes over to have some fun.

Eli slaps Nozomi's hand and the purple haired girl only laughs in return. "Maybe she is busy?" Nozomi giggles. "That girl has no friends. Well, besides us. And from what I heard from Ms. Maeda, she is the type to avoid any kind of work or activity if possible." She pokes Eli's side again, who dared to peek into her textbook, again.

"So no, she definitely isn't busy." Eli tries to grab her best friend's hand, but this time Nozomi is quicker and quickly pulls away. "Stop that!" The blonde says, and pushes Nozomi off the bed. Nozomi falls down spectacularly, but she continues to laugh.

"What's with you today? You are starting to become more hyperactive than Honoka." Nozomi slowly crawls back up and lands right next to Eli. She quickly grabs the textbook and throws it away. "Who knows, maybe that paint was a bit bad for my health. It did smell a bit iffy."

"Well, you were the one who wanted to paint the walls today." Nozomi checks her phone again to see if Nico replied. _No, still no reply._ "That reminds me. Remember how you asked me to ask the instructor if Nico could join us?"

Nozomi looks at her curiously. "Yes. What about it?" Eli takes a sip of her soda before answering. "When I asked the instructor, he said Nico cannot help us out today because she left the school with Maki."

 _That sounds interesting,_ Nozomi noted. "Why did they leave the school? Decided to have a duel in the middle of the forest or something?" Eli takes another sip of the soda, then throws the empty can in the trash.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I think she accompanied Maki to her family's hospital."

 _Interesting._ "But it's already close to 8PM. Isn't curfew at 8?" Nozomi asks curiously, but Eli only shrugs in response. "Maybe Nico is staying over at Maki's?" Eli proposes the idea, but regrets it immediatelly.

"Oh, I bet they must be having some fun right now." Nozomi says with a mischievous grin, which makes Eli blush. "Nozomi, they are like…13."

"Actually, Nico is 15 already, the same age as us."

"Oh, right…I always forget."

* * *

"Oh that's nothing compared to what this little devil over there did when she was little!" Kana's mother exclaimed, pointing her finger at her daughter jokingly. For the first time in weeks, Kana let out a laugh.

"Mom, don't bring up that old story again!" The girl shouted, but she was still smiling. "Jeez, why is that the only thing you talk about every time someone visits us?"

The three have been chatting and ranting about various things for the past 30 minutes. At first Kana was a bit reluctant to open up, but her mother managed to get her out of her shell with her cheerful attitude. Time flew by so fast, and Nico didn't notice it was already 7PM.

"Please leave that old story be, mom. It's too embarrassing!"

Nico was a bit surprised by the sudden change of attitude. It's not like she didn't enjoy the friendly atmosphere, but she couldn't help but feel as if there was something neither mother nor daughter wanted to talk about.

"Fine, alright. How about the story with the cat?"

As Nico sat there, between mother and daughter, she couldn't stop thinking about the two's odd behaviour towards the other earlier. The woman was nice (even though she didn't seem so at first), and Nico somewhat enjoyed listening to her ramblings, and she also liked how flustered her daughter got whenever the woman mentioned something embarrassing.

"Urgh. Why do you always have to bring up every stupid story…" The girl shook her head.

And what about that strange talk they had earlier, when the mother was busy? Nico was good at playing dumb but this time she honestly had no clue what Kana was talking about. Maybe the other students who bullied her? Would make sense, but on the other hand those bullies didn't seem like the kind who'd follow their victim everywhere. They just wanted to have some fun at school (because to some bullying is a form of entertainment), they had no reason to make the girl's private life hell as well.

And who is _Kagura_?

Nico stopped contemplating when she felt the woman's gaze on her. She swiftly turned around, hoping no one noticed her not paying attention. "When she was 5, her father brought her a small cat. I still don't know where he found him, he only told me it was "harassed by some punks on the street". Kana was very delighted, of course."

"She'd play with him every day for hours. That little tomcat never stopped playing. He also used to run around the house during the night and wake everyone up with his meowing." The woman chuckles. "Kana was about 7 when I taught her how to knit."

"Mom…" Kana looks at her mother, embarrassed. "So one day, I woke up to see our little cat with some sort of cap on his mouth." The woman giggles again. "Kana wakes up and enters the living room. I give her a confusing look and point towards the kitten."

"Then I ask, 'what's this?', and Kana only replies with "I made a muzzle for little Shiro so he'd no longer wake mommy and daddy up during the night!"

A snort is Nico's only response to this silly little story. She looks at Kana, the culprit, who looks away with a blush on her cheeks. "And what happened to the cat?" Nico asks.

Kana gives her another one of those sad, forlorn looks. "Sadly, he died last year. He was 10 years old."

Before Nico says anything the woman's phone rings again. This time she picks it up and doesn't leave the room. "Sorry, give me a minute."

Nico and Kana stay quiet for a short while, wondering what the conversation is about. After a minute, the woman hangs up. "Sorry, it was my husband." She turns to Kana. "Dear, your father says I should go home soon, since it's getting dark." Kana nods. She understands.

She then turns towards Nico. "Sorry about that." Nico shakes her head. "It's fine, I don't want to bother you for too long anyways."

"Do you have a any other questions to ask?" The lady asks hastily, grabbing her coat in the meantime. Nico thinks for a second. _Well, might as well ask something personal while they are already in a good mood._

"What exactly happened? How did the car hit you?" Nico asks with the most sincere tone she could use. She really doesn't want to offend the family, or open not-so-old wounds. "I mean, it's totally fine if you don't want to answer to something like that!" She quickly adds.

Kana shakes her head. "No, it's fine. Not like I can avoid the topic for the rest of my life." Her mother looks at her, worried, but the girl tells her it's okay. "I was walking home from school. I had an exam that day so I didn't get much sleep. I didn't notice that the lights were red and…the car hit me."

Nico is concerned now. Maybe she really shouldn't have asked. "I'm sorry. It must've been a terrible accident."

"Accident. Right…" The woman says. Her daughter returns the comment with a frown.

"Mom, let's not start this again."

Mother and daughter stare at each other for suffocating seconds. Neither of them say anything. Nico decides to save this situation as fast as possible. "I think I should be going." She says, and stands up.

"Oh right, I should be going as well." The mother notes, and her default expression returns to her face. "I'll come again Wednesday. I probably can't come tomorrow, unless I'll be done with the interview quickly. Wish me luck!"

The woman steps closer to her damaged daughter and gives her a kiss on her head. Kana tries to avoid that, possibly embarrassed to do such things in front of her peers. "Yeah yeah, good luck." She sounds uninterested, but that small smile on her face says more than words.

"Mind if I come by next week?" Nico suddenly asks, not sure herself why. Kana is surprised and doesn't really understand why either, but she nods. "I hope you'll get better soon!"

Nico leaves the room and the last thing she hears from her new "friend" is two words.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Urgh. This was so stupid!" Maki states, giving her father an annoyed look. "I wouldn't be surprised if that idiot already left." The redhead quickens her pace. Her father is walking beside her. "I'm sure she is still here. Look, there she is!"

The man points at Nico who is talking to someone in the distance. When she gets closer, she notices it's a middle aged woman. Maki doesn't know who she is. "Looks like your friend got bored of waiting and made a new friend!" Her father comments.

Finally, Nico notices the two and looks at the young redhead with a raised eyebrow. The woman she was talking to leaves quickly before Maki reaches Nico.

"I didn't know you knew the Ueda family." Mr. Nishikino is the first to say something to Nico. Maki looks at her father, wondering why that even matters. Nico only shakes her head in response.

"After you two left I decided to explore this level. I accidentally found Kana's room." Nico explains. _If that doesn't sound stupid I don't know what does._

"You are friends with Kana?" Mr. Nishikino continues his 'interrogation', which annoys Nico. She really wants to ask what took the Nishikinos so long to grab a box of cookies.

"No, but we go to the same school. I thought paying her a visit wouldn't be so bad." Maki is annoyed that she is left out of the conversation. She twirls her hair in annoyance. Nico decides to mock her and does the same. Maki snorts in response.

"Oh, I didn't know that. So you go to Otonoki as well?" Nico nods. "I do."

Mr. Nishikino notices Kana's mother outside. She is talking to someone on the phone. A large glass door is between him and the woman so he cannot hear her voice, but from her motions it seems like she is shouting.

Nico notices this and looks back. Maki looks at the woman as well but she doesn't understand what's so interesting about her. The woman hangs up the call and walks away. In less than a minute her figure completely disappears.

"Mrs. Ueda is an interesting woman." Mr. Nishikino blurts out, not sure why he wanted to say that. Nico hums in agreement. "Do you also know Kana's parents?" The man questions Nico.

"You see, that's a funny story. So after I decided to enter Kana's room I actually decided it was better if I didn't. But then Mrs. Ueda appeared right next to me and we started…talking. In the end I was sort of convinced to enter."

Nico notices how bored Maki is and decides to leave the rest of the story. "I don't know her father at all, though."

Mr. Nishikino grabs his glasses for a second and cleans the lenses with his handkerchief. "It's probably better that way."

Nico wants to ask about the father but decides to drop the topic. It's not like she is related to the Ueda family at all. Actually, she is glad Mr. Nishikino didn't got mad at her for entering a room without his permission.

"Can we just get going already?" Maki whines. She is still twirling her locks. Nico wonders how long she can keep that up for until her hand starts feeling numb.

"Alright, let's get you two back to DMHS. Just let me grab the keys quickly." Mr. Nishikino runs back to the office they were in before, and Maki sincerely hopes the keys are actually in that office and not in the other one this time.

In a minute he returns and the three leave the hospital. "Let's get you girls back to the school. I have to be back in less than 40 minutes." Maki sighs. "You are always so busy at the hospital. Just what are you and mom doing there all day?"

Her father laughs. "Well, you know, just saving some lives and limbs here and there. Also doing some paperwork once in a while. More often than I'd like, actually."

Maki starts another argument with her father. Nico decides she's had enough of that for the day and surveys the car instead. If she is right, the car is a Honda, a new model. It's beautifully dark and black on the outside, and the inside is a beige colour. The car seat is made of high quality leather, very comfortable.

It's probably not exaggerating to say that this car costs more than Nico's entire apartment. This leather is probably more comfortable than her own bed, too.

It's Nico's first time sitting in a luxury car. Princess Maki is probably used to it though. She wonders how many other cars the Nishikino family has. Probably at least four.

"Maki, stop being so grumpy and give Nico some cookies. They are really delicious, I'm sure she'd like them." Mr. Nishikino grabs the box and gives it to Maki. Maki wonders why he didn't give it directly to Nico.

She looks at the black haired girl for a second. She still has that "come fight me" expression. Of course she does. Reluctantly, Maki hands the box over. Nico grabs a cookie and bites it.

"Thanks, Maki." She says _Maki_ in such a smug way, and for a second Maki considers throwing the whole box on her head. But then she remembers that her father is here as well, and she doesn't want to make him mad.

Maki tries to put the box back where it was before, but Nico keeps asking for more cookies so after a few minutes Maki decides to just put the box in the empty spot between the two. Maki regrets her decision shortly after, when she sees that not many cookies survived Nico.

She looks at the girl with the good appetite. Nico gives her a content look. She even puts her hand on her belly. "Why don't you drink more milk instead?" Maki mocks, quickly destroying Nico's calm mood.

"Hey, you wanted me to eat the cookies!" Nico shouts. "That doesn't mean you have to eat almost all of them!" Maki retorts, and the two move closer to each other. They stare at each other and continue arguing like kindergarten children.

Maki's father doesn't stop them, instead he just laughs at the scene.

"Then you should eat the remaining cookies! Maybe that way I won't have to hear your voice while you are eating!" Nico grabs a cookie and throws it at Maki. The redhead lets out a shriek before the cookie lands on her face.

"You little…" Maki grabs another cookie and throws it at Nico. This battle continues until Maki has enough and grabs the whole box. She throws it at Nico in full force, but she makes sure to call her an idiot first.

Mr. Nishikino witnesses the scene. Then he witnesses Nico getting closer and closer to his daughter…before putting the empty box on her head. Maki mumbles something but neither her father nor Nico can hear her.

Nico laughs at the sight and mocks the redhead. When Maki manages to get the box off, her head is as red as her hair. This makes Nico laugh even more. Mr. Nishikino turns back to see what's so funny and when he sees her daughter's face, he starts laughing too.

* * *

"Come on, it only has 15HP left!"

Loud shouts follow as Eli deals the final blow. The monster before her drops dead, and the village is saved.

"That was so close! You only had like no HP and one potion left!" Nozomi gives her blonde friend a slap on the back. "The next boss is yours." Eli jumps off the bed and goes to the kitchen.

She returns seconds later with two cans of soda.

Nozomi takes one can and opens it. Her friend sits back on the bed, ready to continue where she left off.

"You can have the next boss too if you want." Nozomi proposes, and Eli accepts the offer excitedly. "Are you sure?" Nozomi nods. "Yeah. I like watching you play."

Nozomi grabs her phone. She checks for new replies and rejoices when she sees that Nico finally responded. She begins writing her reply which catches the blonde's attention.

"What's up? Did Nico finally respond?"

Nozomi corrects a word she typoed and then hits the send button. "Yep. Looks like your story checks out, she went to Nishikino General Hospital with Maki and only got back just now."

Eli moves closer to Nozomi and reads her conversation with Nico. "Did you really have to mention that age thing to Nico?" Nozomi giggles. "She asked what we were talking about, I just told her the truth."

"And what's with that Kagura thing?" Eli asks curiously. Nozomi only shrugs her shoulders in response. "I don't know. She just asked if I knew someone at Otonoki who is named Kagura." Eli wonders why Nico asked something like that out of the blue.

"I hope you didn't say anything embarrassing about me." Eli looks at her best friend accusingly. Nozomi smiles. "No, why would I do that?"

Eli raises her eyebrows. "You always do that. Come on now, scroll up. I want to see." The blonde tries to grab the phone but luckily Nozomi is faster. "Hey, if you didn't say something dumb again there's no reason not to show me, right? Nozomi?"

Nozomi grins.

"Nozomi!"

* * *

The air is chilly around the school. There's no one outside or in front of the school, and many rooms are already dark. The students of Date Masamune High School are getting ready for the night.

Curfew is in 20 minutes but neither Nico nor Maki feel like they have to rush. Instead, they enter the school peacefully and slowly, not really talking to each other.

They go up the stairs and reach the first floor. Before they go further up something catches Nico's interest.

"Look, the walls have been decorated!" Nico shouts excitedly (finally those plain ugly white walls will be gone!) but Maki tells her to be more quiet. "They probably painted the walls while we were gone."

Nico walks closer silently, not wanting to wake up anyone.

"What are you doing?" Maki asks, annoyed.

"Checking out the art, grumpy pants." Nico motions Maki to follow her. Maki sighs. "Nico, we have to reach my room in 15 minutes or the nurses will be angry."

Nico doesn't listen and walks even closer. "Come on, some people just spent hours to make this place better and there you are acting like Maeda. Besides, we are already inside the building."

"Maeda who?"

"Nevermind."

Maki finally gives up and follows Nico. They walk through the hallway slowly, taking a look at every figure or object painted on the walls. Some paintings are rather basic but some do stand out with how well-made they are.

Nico abruptly stops in front of her. She looks right to see what Nico is staring at so intently. The figure of a young woman is painted on the wall. Nothing is unusual about it except for the purple hair.

Nico has an idea who painted this one.

"Heh." Nico takes out her phone to check the time. She finally notices the unread messages. She opens the folder to see that the one sending them was no other than…Nozomi.

 _Well, isn't that convenient._

"What's wrong?" Maki asks, stepping closer to Nico. "It's Nozomi bugging me about something stupid again."

Maki looks at Nico's phone curiously. "What did she say?" Nico scrolls down to her latest message. "I don't know. Didn't read her texts yet."

"Then how do you know it's stupid?"

"Because it's Nozomi."

Maki doesn't question her any further. Nico begins typing her reply and Maki steps a bit further away, respecting her privacy.

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Hey, how are you doing? Eli wanted to ask you to join us but you left._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Are you still busy? =)_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _Sorry for the late reply. What did she want to ask? :/_

 _From: Nozomi_

 _We volunteered to paint the walls today. I wanted you to join._

 _To: Nozomi_

 _The walls on the first floor?_

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Yep. Why?_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _So I take it this beautiful mermaid with purple hair who looks strangely similar to you is your doing?_

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Oh, so you saw it!_

 _I worked hard, you know :^)_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _I bet…_

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Did u like it?_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _Truly a piece of art only second to the Mona Lisa._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _That's so sweet of you to say 3_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _It was sarcasm…_

 _From: Nozomi_

 _So what were you doing all day?_

 _Taking care of Maki? 8)_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _I'm not going to ask how you know that._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Eli told me. She asked the instructor._

 _She's next to me right now._

 _To: Nozomi_

 _What are you guys doing?_

 _Playing Tarot?_

 _From: Nozomi_

 _She invited me over. That's why I messaged you, actually._

 _I wanted to ask if you want to come over too._

 _To: Nozomi_

 _Well, read your message a bit too late then._

 _Maybe another time._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _It's never late to come over ;)_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _So what did you guys do?_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _We went to her fam's hospital._

 _Strange things happened…_

Nico wasn't really sure mentioning anything was a good idea. Just one strange word and Nozomi will immediatelly know something happened. Now she'll continue to ask her until she gives her the answer.

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Oh yeah? What happened?_

 _I hope you two are ok._

 _To: Nozomi_

 _It's a bit late now. I'll tell you some other day, ok?_

 _Btw, do you know someone named Kagura? From Otonoki._

Nico honestly doesn't know why she thinks Nozomi would know, but Nozomi seems to know everything so might as well ask her, right?

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Kagura? I don't think I know anyone with that name._

 _Why?_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _I was just curious._

 _Anyways, what are you and Eli doing?_

 _From: Nozomi_

 _We are in her bed :^)_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _And what are u doing there?_

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Just playing with things…_

 _Want me to send a pic? 8)_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _Please don't._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Ok. We are actually playing games._

 _And occasionally chatting about stuff._

 _To: Nozomi_

 _I hope you didn't talk about me._

 _Or Maki._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Oh, acting territorial, aren't we?_

 _To: Nozomi_

 _Yep, you totally were talking about us._

 _Bet you made 1-2 sex jokes while you were at it._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _:^)_

 _Eli didn't like my jokes, sadly._

 _To: Nozomi_

 _A prude and a pervert._

 _Nice duo. I can only imagine what her response was._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _She actually said I shouldn't joke about that cuz both of you are 13._

 _To: Nozomi_

…

 _Fuck you._

Maki pokes her on her arm to finally get her attention. "Nico, we really need to get going."

 _To: Nozomi_

 _I have to go now._

 _See ya._

 _From: Nozomi_

 _Aww :(_

 _Good night!_

Nico quickly puts her phone in her pocket and runs after Maki who is already making her way back to the stairs. "Hey, wait!" Maki turns around. "Stay quiet and be faster!"

* * *

Who might this Kagura be?

While Eli is making dinner in the kitchen, Nozomi is left with her own thoughts. Of course, Nico's strange question is the first thing that comes to her mind. Nozomi is perceptive enough to realize this "Kagura" probably has something to do with the "strange things that happened" as Nico put it.

Nozomi wonders just what strange things could occur at a hospital. A new patient in critical condition might be taken to the hospital (like in those movies and TV shows) exactly when the main character happens to be at the hospital. But that sounds too extreme, so that's not what happened.

She has been Eli's right-hand (wo)man for the past 1,5 years and she helps her blonde friend with the paperwork all the time, but Nozomi doesn't remember ever seeing a student with the name Kagura. It's a rare name nowadays.

Maybe it's a girl from another school? Or it could be a famous person, like a celebrity. But why would Nico ask about such things?

Nozomi's inner rambling comes to a stop when Eli returns with the dinner. She carefully gives the tray to Nozomi. "Be careful not to get anything to touch my bed!" She orders, making a funny motion with her hand, like a grumpy middle-aged wife.

"Roger that." The blonde sits down next to Nozomi and the two begin to eat. The fried fish with rice and a little bit of mayonnaise tastes amazing, as always. Good thing Eli has become such a great cook.

"You are getting better at this every day, Eli." Nozomi states proudly. Eli smiles back in return. "Well, I had a good teacher."

"Those cooking courses last summer did amount to something, huh?" Nozomi says to herself, but Eli hears her too. "Yes, and I'm still thankful for it."

The two continue to eat in relative silence. After they are finished, Nozomi takes the two trays, the empty bowls and the used chopsticks and goes to the kitchen. In the meantime Eli grabs a magazine and searches for an interesting topic.

Not many topics interest her, though. Not many topics common in girl's magazines, to be exact. Somehow, Eli just doesn't find typical girly topics interesting. The only thing she likes is fashion, but stupid horoscopes, tests and interviews with fake teen idols don't catch her interest at all.

She finally finds a 2-page article about this season's fashion. She looks at the new clothes and brands that are apparently popular right now. A coat catches her interest, but it is kind of expensive. Maybe she has enough money saved to buy it, if she really likes it.

When Nozomi returns to her side, Eli puts down the magazine. "Is everything ok?" Nozomi looks at her surprised, not expecting her friend to notice her spacing out. "I'm just thinking about something."

Eli looks at her with curiousity. "What is it? Tell me."

Nozomi hears footsteps downstairs. Alisa is probably watching TV in the living room right now. Maybe they should invite her to play with them next time. The three used to spend afternoons and evenings like this together all the time when Alisa was little. Now that she is 11 and more mature (according to her), she prefers to spend most of her time alone or with her peers.

"I'm just thinking about what Nico said. You know, the "strange things" part." Nozomi grabs the bottle of water and drinks. "By the way, do you know anyone at Otonoki who is named Kagura?"

Eli shakes her head. _Of course._ "Nope. Maybe there is someone who I don't know or never saw her name, but I doubt it." Nozomi sighs. "You know almost everyone, after all."

"That's exaggerating a bit, haha. There are plenty of students I don't know. Remembering the name of 400 students would be a bit difficult." Eli grabs the magazine and opens it at the same article. She shows Nozomi the article and points at the coat of her dreams with her finger.

"I'm thinking about buying that one. Do you think it looks good?" Eli asks with the sincerity girls have whenever they ask their closest friends about fashion. Nozomi takes a few seconds to look at the coat. It does look rather comfy.

"I think it looks pretty good. But isn't it a bit too costly?" Eli jumps down from the bed and goes to her drawer. She then pulls out the small ceramic pig and looks inside the small hole on top of the pig's head. "I think I have enough in there to buy it."

Nozomi snorts. "You look ridiculous with that pig thing. I wonder what the other council members would think if they saw you right now." Eli puts the pig back in the drawer and looks at Nozomi, offended.

"I like it, okay? I think it's cute. Besides, I can't just throw out a childhood memory." Eli states with the voice of a child, and Nozomi chuckles. "Isn't that the money box your mother gave you before you started high school?"

"H-How do you know that?!" Eli asks, looking like a kid caught with hands in the cookie jar. "You told me when you first invited me over, remember?" Nozomi replies.

The blonde girl looks away sheepishly. "Oh, right."

"Anyways, why don't we start the racing game again? We can do a round or two before you go home, right?" Eli asks, but Nozomi shakes her head. "Nah, not now. Let's just check out these magazines together. I bought them this morning."

"I bet you don't want to be beaten by me again." Eli states, matter of factly. "Not my fault you are such a nerd and never let anyone win."

Eli snorts. "Not my fault you are only good at card games."

* * *

It's exactly 8PM when the two reach Maki's room. How punctual.

Thankfully they didn't run into any staff member or teacher on the way. Not like they would punish you for it, but nobody wants them to think you are a rebel or a bad student, right?

Maki's room is the same as before. Organized and clean to the point where it's unsettling, like there's no personality to this room. Sterile like a hospital room. Well, her parents work at a hospital, so it makes sense.

As soon as they enter, Maki collapses on her bed. "Jeez, I feel so tired. I feel like my legs are dying…" The redhead says, and Nico only snorts in return. "Quit being such a drama queen, you're fine."

Maki turns towards Nico, aims, and throws her pillow at her. This takes Nico by surprise so she doesn't dodge. "Wow, you really feel like throwing things today, aren't you?" Nico notes sarcastically.

"Shut up. The thing in the car, you started it."

Nico doesn't feel like responding to that unjust accusation. Instead she checks out the new book on Maki's desk. _The life of Richard Wagner._

"Wow, sounds boring." Nico notes, and Maki unfortunately hears. She quickly jumps up and takes the book out of Nico's hands. "Well, I don't find it boring!"

Nico shrugs her shoulders. "Whatever. Do you like classical music, or something?" Nico doesn't know much about the genre, but she knows that Wagner was a famous composer. And she does listen to some classical music once in a while, though mostly when her head really hurts and she cannot fall asleep…she read once that classical music is good for your health and calms your soul.

"I guess. I really like listening to classical music. In fact, I'm 100% sure classical or jazz is way better than anything you hear in the radio nowadays!" Maki looks at Nico with the face of a true snob. Nico finds it funny that everything Maki does is snobby in one way or another…well, maybe not everything, but a lot of things.

"What is your favourite instrument?" Nico asks out of the blue, but Maki seems somewhat happy that she asked this question. "The piano, of course." Maki looks at the only picture in her room, a photo showing a young girl (probably Maki, since the girl has red hair) in front of a piano.

"Can you play the piano?" Nico asks the rhetorical question, although she already knows the answer. She is perceptive enough to know something like that.

"Of course!" Maki exclaims, and for the first time today, she smiles brightly. She looks sort of endearing when she smiles, Nico thinks.

Maki walks closer to the picture and grabs the frame. She takes a closer look at it, then puts it back. "When I was young, I used to play all the time. I had my first competition when I was 7 years old, and I actually got second place, even though everyone else was older than me."

Nico looks at the picture again. The Maki from the past seems to be smiling. That's a rare occurance nowadays. "And what did your parents say? I mean, getting second place against older children is pretty amazing."

Maki turns away with a sad expression. "My parents asked why I was only second." Maki let's out a painful laugh. "I guess they're right. I should've been even better, and won."

"No, they are not right at all!"

Maki is surprised by Nico's reaction. She expected her to mock her for making a huge deal out of something trivial like this.

"First of all, you shouldn't care about what your parents think! You know you gave it your best. Second, getting 2nd place is an amazing achievement. No one expected you, a 7 years old to rank so high, yet you did."

Maki looks at the old photograph once more. When was it taken again? When she was only starting to learn how to play on her beloved instrument, or after her first real competition? She doesn't remember, to be honest. She spent literally every second of her free time in front of the old piano, so guessing when the photo was taken is nigh impossible.

She still remembers the first day. It was 3 months after her sixth birthday. She has just begun elementary school and she was too nervous about the new situation. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't make new friends. Maybe it was her overachieving behaviour that irked the other kids. Ever since day one, she'd always answer the teacher's questions first, she'd always be the first to finish a task, the first to get dressed in P.E. class, and of course, the best at every subject.

She was too young back then to know how the world works; how kids work. Even if you are truly intelligent and work the hardest, you won't get what you want so much. You won't get friends – because that's not how you make friends. Her method was perfect for only one thing: making other kids envy her, fear her, or think of her as someone you cannot get close to.

Sadly, she only understood this later. When it was too late, and she didn't feel like trying anymore.

At night, her mother gets a phone call. It's her grandmother; it's about something urgent. Later, when her mother hangs up, she tells Maki that her grandmother decided to move to the countryside, because the air there is better for a lady her age. And naturally, her grandmother cannot bring her old piano with her. She hasn't been using it for the past few years, so it's not like parting ways with the old instrument will be hard.

Maki doesn't really get what a piano is at first. And truthfully, she doesn't even care that much. At this point, she is still nervous about her social life in school. Yesterday, a girl from her class asked her if she could borrow her homework. Maki gladly gave her homework to the little girl, and now she was hoping they'd become friends with this girl.

They didn't become friends.

The girl politely thanked her for her homework, but she never really interacted that much with her afterwards, unless the situation called for it. The girl continued to be nice and polite to her, but Maki was hoping for something else. Something…more.

When she gets home on that faithful day, her good mood is pretty much gone. She exits the car without much care for anything and forgets to say goodbye to the driver. She is surprised to see her mother standing in front of the house today. She is usually busy until late at night, but not today.

Her mother gives her a warm hug and motions her to get inside. "I have something to show you!" She says, and she sounds more excited than usual. Maki wonders what made her dear mom so excited, considering she is always calm and collected.

Her mother's good mood also brightens the little redhead's mood as well. She slowly walks towards the large living room (giant would be a better word), not sure where she is supposed to look for this 'present'.

When she reaches the center of the living room, she doesn't notice anything at first. She looks at her mother, who is still holding her hand, with a questioning look. Her mother gives her a warm smile and points at the large black object in the corner of the room, right next to the window.

Maki doesn't know why, but the instant she lays her eyes on the large piano, she feels attracted to it. It's a strange feeling, like being sucked in with your own consent. She wants to get closer, she wants her small hands to touch the surface of the old instrument, but she has no idea why.

Her mother gently pushes her from behind. "Go on, take a closer look. I'm sure you'll love it."

Maki follows her orders. She gets closer and finally touches the piano. It feels cold. It's also bigger than her, which scares her a little bit. She sits on the chair in front of the piano and checks out the front part. She only sees a lot of buttons. Large, very large buttons.

Her mother pushes one of the keys, which makes a loud sound. Maki is surprised at first but then she tries pushing one. It makes another sound, different from the last one. Now braver, Maki puts her hand on the piano and starts hitting the keys randomly. Various sounds echo through the room, sounds that do not fit well together.

Her mother gently pats her head. "You have to push these keys in a specific order. The order depends on what you want to play." Her mother steps a bit closer and plays a short and very simple melody. She cannot actually play the piano, but she remembers the two pieces her grandmother taught her when she was very small. She still regrets not learning how to play the piano.

She closes her eyes while she is playing to be more immersed. While she plays, she feels like she flies back in time. Memories of her own mother, Maki's grandmother, playing the piano in the living room many, many years ago.

When is finished, she opens her eyes. Her little Maki is looking at her in awe. "Did you like it?"

Maki nods vehemently. "It was really nice!"

Mrs. Nishikino pats her little daughter's head again. "Do you want to learn how to play the piano, Maki?" Her mother asks. The answer is obvious.

Seven years later, she still remembers her mother's question, ringing in her ears every day.

"…"

Nico looks at her, a bit concerned. Judging by the girl's expression, she must be thinking about something sad, so Nico thinks it's better not to ask.

"I guess you are right."

Maki grabs the book about Richard Wagner and sits down on her bed. Acting like nothing happened, she opens her mouth to speak.

"It's getting late and I'm sure your parents must be worried about you."

Nico quickly looks at the clock. Maki is right, it's getting close to 20.30. She has to hurry or her siblings might get the wrong idea. Good thing she cooked tonight's dinner this morning. One less thing to worry about.

"You are right, I should get going." Hastily, Nico turns around and opens the door. The door creaks a bit, and Nico really hopes she didn't wake up anyone.

Before leaving, she turns back towards the redhead.

"You know, I'd really like to hear you play sometime."

The girl looks at her with an unreadable expression, but she seems happy. She tries to conceal her smile with her book, as expected from a dork like her. Even though her face is covered, Nico can still feel the excitement in her voice.

"Maybe someday?"

* * *

The walk home is nothing exciting. As expected of Nico she misses the bus by a second, and the good old driver doesn't feel like waiting for her today.

She suddenly remembers that the bus schedule is a bit different during the night because less people are waiting for the bus, so less buses come and go. Nico quickly runs up to the signs at the bus stop and prays to God that she doesn't have to wait an hour for the next bus.

The gods listen to her this one time and she happily notes that the schedule only changes after 10PM and the next bus will be here in 15 minutes.

When she finally gets off the subway it's already 9PM. She quickens her pace and quickly reaches her apartment. No old lady is holding the elevator today so she reaches her destination quickly.

She stops in front of the front door to listen in. She doesn't hear any footsteps nor voice. Her siblings are probably sleeping already. Nico silently enters the flat and changes into her pajamas. Before going to sleep she makes sure to check on all three of her siblings.

As expected, her mother is not at home. _Probably doing night shift again, huh._

Even though Nico is tired, she cannot go to bed with an empty stomach so she enters the kitchen, looking for some food. To her surprise, a bowl of the dinner she made is waiting for her on the table.

Nico smiles.

* * *

 _"September 21 – Sixth day_

 _Today was a very eventful day._

 _In the morning I actually felt a bit sick so I wanted to stay at home. Then Nozomi happened and I changed my mind… But I don't regret my decision._

 _I spent most of my day with Maki. She is not exactly the most pleasant girl but she is tolerable._

 _Maki had a medical check today but her parents couldn't come for her…so it was my task to escort her to the hospital. Some idiots in front of the building tried to harass Maki but I defended her (heh)._

 _While I was exploring the ground floor I accidentally found Ueda Kana's room._

 _At first I wanted to enter, then I changed my mind, and then I changed my mind again._

 _Kana seemed a bit emotionless, but that's understandable in her condition. I'm glad she is getting better, though."_

Nico closes her journal. She feels content with yesterday's entry. Even though many strange things happened yesterday (some she didn't even mention in the entry), she still felt successful. Escorting Maki to the hospital wasn't much, but she was happy to be with her. Who knows what could've possibly happened to her otherwise.

It's still two hours until school starts. Her siblings are still sleeping and her mother's already gone, so currently she is all alone.

Even though she feels good about herself, her first conversation with Kana, and the events on that quarantined floor left a bad taste in her mouth. She has no idea what's going on, but she feels like it's something bad. That conversation she overheard definitely didn't sound any good.

The two people, whom she didn't see, also mentioned "that Nishikino girl" in their short conversation. But what does Maki have to do with all of this? She doesn't seem like the type of girl who'd get into shady situations like this.

And what about Ueda? Nico feels, no, _knows_ the girl is hiding something and she is unwilling to discuss that. She even told her mother to be quiet about it. Nico has no idea what her problem is, but she is sure it has something to do with her current state, and the person named Kagura.

She also met a lot of interesting people today. Mr. Nishikino was certainly not the way Nico expected him to be…she thought he'd be the serious daddy type with scary opaque glasses (he did have glasses though, although the lenses weren't opaque at all!). Nico was pleasantly surprised.

Then there was Mrs. Ueda. Although their meeting wasn't the most fortunate, and Nico was sure she made an idiot out of herself, things did work out in the end. She feels sorry for the woman though, she cannot even imagine what she must be going through. It's admirable how she continues to smile after that tragedy.

And then there's Kana, of course. Nico doesn't really know what to think of her yet. The girl seems hollow, almost like an empty shell. Very few things can get her in a good mood. She also seems to be hiding something, and Nico is sure her secret is going to bite her in the ass one day.

Nico wants to help the girl, just to prove her bullies that Ueda is stronger than they'll ever be. But she doesn't know how to help. She can't give back her ability to walk, after all.

Nico looks over to the left. Her phone is right next to her notebook.

 _Maybe she can help._

With a pained sigh (because she really doesn't want to do this), she grabs her phone and starts writing her message.

 _To: Nozomi_

 _Hey_

 _Can we meet up at school?_

* * *

 **A month and ten million exams later I finally return! (Sorry for the wait)**

 **Thanks for all the kind words, I'm really happy so many are enjoying my story!**

 **Reviews and criticism are welcome!**


	10. Chapter 10

Nico feels rather energetic today. It's probably because she slept for 8 hours instead of four like she usually does. As she walks towards the subway station, she silently hums an old but familiar melody.

If someone were to hear her right now and ask what she was humming, she's not sure she could give an answer. She's been humming that song on her way to school almost every day when she wasn't dead tired.

She's been singing that song as a lullaby to her siblings almost every single night. She doesn't remember when she heard that melody for the first time, or when she started singing it as well.

All she remembers is the person whom she heard it from.

That nearly a decade long memory leaves a bitter aftertaste in Nico's mouth, so she stops humming that melody and quietly sings a pop song she just heard the other day. Nico ignores the occasional strange looks other people give her.

What is so wrong about singing to yourself, anyways? It's not like you are only allowed to sing in front of a huge crowd.

The subway is relatively peaceful today. No angry couples shouting at each other, no annoying middle school kids listening to English pop songs at full volume they can't even understand.

Nico is sitting right next to a middle aged man. Normally there'd be nothing unusual about this, but actually sitting on the subway is a very rare occurance. Usually, by the time Nico gets on, every seat is occupied. And no one really wants to give their seat to Nico. Even the men are too busy reading newspapers. They don't even notice the people standing in front of them.

The man next to Nico is no different. He is reading a newspaper, precisely an article about the latest discoveries of the scientists and students of Tokyo University. That topic doesn't interest Nico in the slightest.

The man on the other hand, seems to be really into it. His eyes are glued to the article and he only looks away when he checks the time on his watch. He does that frequently. Must be a busy man.

After Nico has sent her message, Nozomi was quick to reply (She must be an early bird!). Nozomi being Nozomi, the first thing she asked was what Nico wanted to talk about. After exchanging a few messages, Nico finally convinced her new "friend" that she'll talk about it later, but definitely not now.

To her surprise, Nozomi didn't ask her any further. She said she will be quite busy until about 1PM (doing some student council work or something), but they can meet up anytime after that.

The "anytime after that" comment was followed by a ";P". Nico instinctively ignored it.

The two girls agreed to meet up at around 2PM, before going to DMHS. They can discuss things on their way to the school. When Nico asked if Eli would be with them, Nozomi replied that Eli will be busy all day with council work so she cannot come help out at the other school today.

Nico was happy the blonde wouldn't be accompanying them. It's not like her presence was not welcome, but Nico didn't feel like it'd be a good idea to share her newfound information with the "queen" of the school. Who knows, she might mention something to someone accidentally and start a big scandal.

And she definitely didn't want that. Ueda was in trouble, and Nico knew the source of her problems was most likely someone from Otonoki. But who, she had no idea.

The man finished reading that two pages long article. Nico didn't really bother checking it out, but she looked at it for a second and if her memory was right, it was about a new robot that looks just like a human and can have basic conversations with real humans.

There was even a picture of said robot. It was a woman. Or rather, it had the appearance of a woman. Honestly, Nico found it creepy.

The man turned the page. The next article was shorter than the previous one, but the big headlines caught Nico's interest regardless.

 _"THE NISHIKINO SCANDAL CONTINUES"_

It's not like Nico was surprised, the scandal was all over the media after all, but seeing an article about it in a renowned local newspaper caught her by surprise. She had no idea this scandal would evolve into something bigger, and actually make it into Tokyo Shimbun.

If the Nishikinos are so rich, can't they just bribe newspapers and whistleblowers to keep their mouths shut? Or can't they just go out there and tell the truth to the citizens, that nothing about this scandal is remotely true?

 _"The scandal of Nishikino General Hospital Continues.[…] According to an insider, who has access to medical records and knows the orders given to the staff of the hospital, changing patients' records isn't the only shady thing the family has done in the past, and continues to do to this day.[…] According to our informant, who wishes to keep their identity a secret, the hospital tried to cover a nasty accident that occured about a month or two ago. […] Although they know what exactly happened, our informant doesn't want to tell the whole story to the citizens of Japan yet. They say they want to give a chance to the Nishikinos to come out and admit their crimes voluntarily."_

Before Nico can read any further, the man puts away the newspaper and stands up. He gets off at the next station, and Nico is left to wonder how this unsettling story ends.

* * *

As per usual, Maki spends the time before her afternoon classes with Tsubasa. The two make tea and discuss various matters in the meantime. Both of them speak slowly and gently like nothing is wrong, but both Tsubasa and Maki feel there's something wrong with the other.

While Maki is the type who hides all her problems and pretends nothing's wrong, Tsubasa has none of it. As soon as they sit down with the hot teacups in their hands, Tsubasa launches her attack.

"So, what's bothering you?"

Instead of going red and acting like she doesn't know what her friend means, Maki just sighs. She knew Tsubasa would ask sooner or later. Her eyes might not see, but her ears can hear. Hear even the smallest difference in someone's tone.

She remembers that funny story Tsubasa told her many years ago, when she visited DMHS for the first time. She was 9 years old at the time, Tsubasa was 11. Thanks to her unpleasant attitude the other students were quick to avoid her like the plague.

Having no friends, she spent all of her free time walking around the school and the forest nearby. She liked exploring every nook and cranny of the school, even if she was alone. She felt at peace.

It was during one of these explorations that she accidentally stumbled upon Tsubasa's tearoom. She quickly mumbled some apology and was ready to leave when Tsubasa asked if she wanted to sit down. Maki was a bit taken aback but she took the generous offer.

Tsubasa was so intelligent and so functional that Maki only realized hours later that the girl was blind. Maki wanted to avoid the topic so Tsubasa wouldn't feel awkward or bad about it, but the girl did the opposite: She talked about her condition, about her past and her struggles for hours without feeling shy or sad.

It was during one of Tsubasa's ramblings about blindness that Tsubasa mentioned how blindness really isn't that bad. In fact, a blind person like her is much better at judging people than others!

Maki didn't really believe that but Tsubasa was quick to present proof. She said that even if she cannot see, she can get a much better "view" on other people's features by touching them…the only problem was that not everyone liked to be touched like that.

Tsubasa could also know how someone felt by listening to their voice. Even when someone was acting happy despite actually feeling depressed, Tsubasa couldn't be fooled. She could notice the signs: the change in tone, the words they used, and the fakeness in their voice.

Ever since that day, Maki knew she couldn't hide her true feelings from Tsubasa. She tried to hide things from her a lot, but Tsubasa saw through her everytime.

The two spent a lot of time together. When Tsubasa needed to go somewhere it was always Maki who escorted her. They often got strange looks from the other students when they were seen together. Most people didn't understand how a girl like Maki and a girl like Tsubasa could get along so well.

Most people, including nurses and other staff members, considered them to be opposites. Maki was the one who had a quick temper and was sort of self-conscious, while Tsubasa was the one who always kept quiet and was always confident.

One time a brave student approached Maki and asked her "How do you two get along so well?".

Maki didn't know how to reply. She thought about it for half a minute, and when she found no answer she angrily told the student to mind her own business.

The question did linger in her mind a lot afterwards. She thought about it everyday for weeks, and only realized the truth much later. The answer itself was quite a paradox.

Even though Tsubasa could see through her and know everything about her, she couldn't see the "real" her. As witty and perceptive Tsubasa was, a blind person still couldn't see a person in their entirety.

That thought made Maki comfortable, and that was probably the answer to this old mystery.

How do we get along so well? Tsubasa sees the real me but at the same time doesn't see the part of me that I don't want others to see.

Tsubasa couldn't see that Maki was crippled and walked with a noticeable limp. Of course, her friend knew about her condition but still…She couldn't _see._

If Tsubasa had an opinion about her, it was because of who Maki was, not because of "Maki the cripple."

It was fine to hate Maki. She honestly couldn't care about what others thought of her.

It was fine to like her as well. She didn't care about others opinions, regardless of what their opinion was.

What she did hate though, was when people said that Maki was so rude, so lonely, so annoying, so overcompensating…because she was a cripple. They said, behind her back, that she must feel shy about her condition and that's why she acts like she is so confident and outspoken. She probably only wants the number one spot to herself because that way they see "Maki the number one" and not "Maki the cripple".

And to be honest, they were right. But maybe if they didn't point out what a cripple she was, she wouldn't feel so self-conscious about it!

Tsubasa couldn't see _that._ And therefore, her opinion of Maki was not shaped by Maki's crippled state.

"Maki? Stop spacing out." Tsubasa gently shook Maki's hand to get her attention.

"Oh, sorry. I was just…thinking." The redhead gently squeezes the other girl's hand to show her she is okay.

"So, what's the matter? I know something must be bothering you." Tsubasa looks straight into Maki's eyes, and even though the Tsubasa's emerald eyes can't see, Maki feels like the girl is staring into her soul.

Maki sighs. "It's just…It's about that scandal thing I told you about."

Tsubasa looks a bit concerned. She knows this scandal is the last thing Maki likes to talk about. "What happened?"

"When Nico and I visited the hospital yesterday, there was another large crowd of protesters. I know this topic is entirely my parent's business, but…they were shouting disgusting things at me. Words sensible people never say. A man even tried to grab me but Nico intervened. It was crazy."

Tsubasa puts her hand on the redhead's again. "I'm sorry. I'm sure we'll get through this."

"We?"

Tsubasa smiles. "Of course! You, me, Honoka, Umi, the others… I'm sure you can count Nico in too."

Maki forces out a laugh. "And what can we do? We are all just children. Nobody listens to us." Maki sighs again. "Besides, we don't even know anything. I feel like my parents are keeping secrets from me. How can I help them _and_ myself if I have no idea what's going on?"

Tsubasa takes an inquisitive look at her. "Wait. Are you saying your parents are hiding something from you?"

Reluctantly, Maki nods. "I mean, they've never outright told me they cannot tell me something, but whenever the subject comes up they'll change the conversation. And when I went home a couple of weeks ago, I found them arguing about something in the living room."

Tsubasa leans closer, very interested in the story. "And what happened?"

Maki takes a sip of her tea before continuing. "I took a moment to listen before entering. I didn't hear much, but I think they were talking about some room."

"Room?" Maki nods. "Yeah. I still don't understand what they were talking about, but it was about room…747, I think?"

"Is this Room 747 special?" Tsubasa asks.

"I don't know. I don't know anything about that room, to be honest. But there is one thing…"

"What?"

"You see, if it's Room 747 it means it's on the 7th floor. That floor is currently undergoing renovations, and no one, not even staff members are allowed entry." Maki takes another sip of tea. It's still a bit too hot. "The strange part is that I've never seen any painters around the hospital, and the only ones I've ever seen to enter the seventh floor were my parents and some higher ranking staff members."

Tsubasa hums. "Interesting. And did your parents say anything about the room? Or the floor?"

"They never said anything about the floor itself, but they said that 747 must be completely renovated and made functional again before someone finds out."

"Before someone finds out?"

"I don't know what they meant. I entered the room right after they mentioned this and they immediatelly stopped talking. They looked a bit nervous at first but then they changed back to how they usually were."

A few seconds of silence pass before Tsubasa speaks up. "I'm not sure what's going on, but that's an interesting story regardless."

Someone knocks on the door and Tsubasa tells them to come in. The door quickly opens and it's Honoka and a nurse.

"What's the matter?" Tsubasa asks calmly, although she has no idea why the two are here. Honoka is usually out there playing sports with Rin at this hour and Tsubasa has told the nurses not to bother her at this hour unless it's something urgent.

Of course, even though the question was directed at the nurse behind the energetic girl, it's Honoka who responds. "This nurse over there approached me and Rin when we were playing basketball and asked us where you two were! I said I knew just the right place and offered to bring her to you!"

"More like you grabbed my arm and forced me to run all this way…" The nurse silently adds.

Honoka starts rambling and Tsubasa knows this is the time to stop her before it's too late and they get stuck here listening to her for hours. "Honoka, why were you two looking for us?"

"Oh! That's because the nu-" Before she can continue the nurse puts her hand over Honoka's mouth.

"So. Mrs. Kondou called me on the phone about an hour ago. She told me Mrs. Nishikino wishes to see Maki before 1PM. I came here to escort Maki to the Nishikino manor."

"Escort?" Maki asks.

"Mrs. Nishikino said the driver is still busy today (taking care of his sick child or something like that) and she definitely doesn't want you to go with a taxi all alone. Therefore, I am here to accompany you."

"I see. And what does my mother want?"

The nurse furrows her eyebrows, a bit annoyed by the constant questions. She just wants to get going already. "She wishes to discuss matters concerning your future with you."

Maki gulps. _So it's another one of those talks._

In the meantime Tsubasa and Honoka chat in the background. Tsubasa sits there patiently like a Buddha statue and listens to Honoka's endless stream of stories and jokes. Honoka on the other hand, keeps talking without taking a break to catch her breath, and her ramblings are accompanied by over the top hand gestures. The entire scene looks sort of comical.

"Alright, let's get going then." Maki states matter of factly and stands up. She says goodbye to Tsubasa and the dork and follows the nurse.

They are already in the hallway when someone grabs Maki's arm. It's Honoka.

This startles Maki a bit. "What do you want?"

Honoka gives the redhead a sheepish smile that actually makes Maki feel sorry for being rude. "Let's play cards when you get back, okay?"

Maki smiles. "Okay."

* * *

The road to Nishikino manor is as boring as it can possibly get. Maki spends the entire time watching the scenery while nurse (who has the emotional intelligence of a potato in Maki's opinion) stares out the other window and watches the scenery as well.

The taxi driver, who happens to be one of those types who always try to brighten the mood and initiate conversation, tries painfully hard to start a conversation with the two living hollows behind him, but to no avail. He stops trying after a while.

The Nishikino manor looks the same as always. Beautiful and vivid on the outside, but empty and hollow on the inside. Her father's favourite car is not in the garage, so Maki assumes this talk will only be between mother and daughter.

The nurse rings the bell and Mrs. Nishikino appears to open the door after a minute. Strange, it's usually the butler who does that.

Her mother talks to the nurse a bit, thanking her for taking care of her daughter, and telling her that she can go back now because Mrs. Nishikino will take Maki back to the school later.

After the nurse has left, Mrs. Nishikino beckons Maki to go to the living room. Maki does as told.

Maki's eyes scout the living room. It's only been about a week since she last visited the manor, but no matter how many times she's here, the manor still feels so foreign. The walls are an ugly beige colour, the room is full of a mixture of ages old elegant furniture and modern, high quality furniture. The entire decoration lacks character.

The same old pictures are hung on the walls. Photos taken by professional photographers and paintings painted by famous painters. They feel hollow as well.

The only thing that saves this so hated room is the grand old piano in the right corner. Even after all those years, it looks the same. It hasn't been used in a long time so it's covered in dust.

Maki will make sure to clean that off before she leaves.

"Do you want some tea?" Her mother asks, but Maki shakes her head.

"No, thanks. I just had tea with one of my friends."

"Oh, a friend? Which one?" Her mother asks inquisitively, like she actually cares, but Maki only responds with a sigh.

"With Tsubasa, of course! I have told you about her many times. She is the blind girl I always drink tea with, remember?"

"Oh, Tsubasa. Sorry, I forgot for a moment."

Maki grunts. "You always forget everything I say."

Mrs. Nishikino sits down on the couch, facing of Maki. "Let's not start this again." Her mother clears her throat. "Anyways, I wanted you to come over so we could discuss some important things."

Maki sighs. "Let me guess, it's about my future career."

Her mother nods.

"Wow, didn't see that coming." The redhead sarcastically adds.

Her mother ignores her comment. "So, as you know, your father and I want you to continue our legacy. You are a very intelligent girl despite your quick temper, and we know medicine is just the right orientation for you."

"If everything goes well, after you graduate from DMHS you'll begin your studies at Tokyo University. I'm certain you'll do well considering how dedicated you can be, and your father and I will be there for you if you need help."

"So, why I actually wanted to speak with you today is because I decided that from now on, you'll receive the same study material normal students get. Even though you are mentally healthy and have no learning problems, the curriculum of DMHS is still a simplified version of the national curriculum. And if you want to get into Tokyo University, you'll have to meet the standards of the national curriculum."

Maki nods. "I see. I only have one request."

"And that is?"

"I want to play the piano again. One time every two weeks is not enough." Maki states, and the look she gives her mother is enough to tell that she is serious.

Her mother sighs. "Fine. But I don't want your piano to get in the way of studying."

"It won't, mother."

Mrs. Nishikino gently pats her head. "In that case, you can play the piano again. Come on, let's play a piece now. I want to see how skilled you've gotten."

Maki stands up, filled with a new kind of determination, and walks over to the piano.

She pretends she is in front of a huge crowd again, and starts playing.

* * *

Nico has been standing in front of this tall tree for a while now. It's not like she in impatient, but she _is_ growing impatient.

"Where is that stupid Nozomi? We agreed to meet at 2PM, and it's been 20 minutes!"

To escape boredom, Nico decides to walk in circle around the tree. The students nearby all look at her like she has lost it, but Nico doesn't care. She takes out her earphones and decides to listen to some music while she is waiting.

After a while she gets so into this strange ritual that she doesn't notice a certain purple haired girl standing right there and bumps into her.

"My my, can't control all that energy, can we?"

Nico grunts. "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for like an hour!"

Nozomi chuckles. "Sorry, council work took longer than usual."

"Whatever. Let's just get going before we miss the bus."

As per usual, they do miss the bus. To add salt to injury, the bus leaves right in front of them, only missing it by less than a minute. Nozomi finds the situation funny, Nico, not so much.

"Great, the next one comes in twenty minutes." Nico notes.

Nozomi checks the time on her phone. "No worries, even if we go with the other bus we still make it to the school in time."

"But what are we going to do until the next one comes? Stand there and wait? I don't like waiting."

Nozomi chuckles again. "Yeah, I've noticed that."

Nico begins to think. Maybe they should go to that sweets shop she frequents? Alternatively, they can go to that new parfeit shop that opened last week. She heard it's pretty good.

Or they could also go to a newsstand…

"Wait, I actually want to buy something real quick. The newsstand is just around the corner."

Nozomi only nods and follows Nico.

* * *

"Thank God it wasn't sold out!" Nico exclaims as she holds today's edition of Tokyo Shimbun in her hands. Nozomi gives her a questioning glance.

"So this is what you wanted to buy? Didn't take you for the type who reads stuff like this."

Nico turns around with an annoyed look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Tokyo Shimbun is usually full of politics, science, crime and things like that. I thought you'd prefer teen magazines or tabloids."

"So basically you are saying I look like someone who doesn't read stuff made for intelligent and mature people?"

Nozomi giggles. "No, that's not what I meant."

"You totally did mean that." Nico opens the magazine and looks at the first page. "Anyways, I don't read this stuff but there's an article in it I'm curious about." Her eyes scan the contents page, looking for said article.

"What article?" Nozomi asks.

Nico finally finds "THE NISHIKINO SCANDAL CONTINUES" near the middle. She quickly turns the pages and proudly points at the article with her hands. "Aha! Found it!"

Nico gives it to Nozomi so she can read it. "Here, this is what I was talking about."

"THE NISHIKINO SCANDAL CONTINUES"

 _"The scandal of Nishikino General Hospital scandal that divided the citizens of Tokyo reaches a new chapter. According to an insider, who has access to medical records and knows the orders given to the staff of the hospital, changing patients' records isn't the only shady thing the family has done in the past, and continues to do to this day. "The Nishikinos used their reputation as one of Tokyo's most respected families to hide the crimes they have committed in the past." Said our informant. According to our insider, who wishes to keep their identity a secret, the hospital tried to cover a nasty accident that occured about a month or two ago. This incident was what finally made them turn against the Nishikinos, as it was so repulsive that they could no longer turn a blind eye on the hospital's actions. Although they know what exactly happened, our informant doesn't want to tell the whole story to the citizens of Japan yet. They say they want to give a chance to the Nishikinos to come out and admit their crimes voluntarily."_

A large photo in the middle divided the article into two. There was a tall, red haired woman wearing a doctor's coat standing right next to a man. The man seemed familiar to Nico.

"I remember! It's Takahashi Kenichiro, the deputy principal of DMHS!" Nico noted.

"It's written right under the photo…"

"Shut up."

The mysterious redhead woman was Maki's mother. Under the photo, the following was written:

 _"Takahashi Kenichiro, the deputy principal of Date Masamune High School. The woman on the right is Nishikino Sayaka, the current co-owner of the Nishikino Hospital Chain. Date Masamune is a school for disabled children between ages 3-18. It's been rumored that the two leaders co-operated in the past."_

"What does the rest of the article say?" Nico asks.

 _"The story our informant has told us surprised many of us at the company. Everyone has known the Nishikinos to be one of the most respected families in Tokyo. The story is as follows: Roughly 1,5 months ago, the Nishikinos organized a charity event where the participants would donate their blood. The official statement said the profit would go to organizations who aim to help severely ill children, but in reality the Nishikino General Hospital took all the profit. This is not only a very immoral act but is also against the law._

 _A few donators found out about this rumor and asked the hospital's staff to tell them where their donated blood went, but the hospital refused their request, saying that they cannot give out "confidential information". Some braver donators went as far as to threaten to file a lawsuit against the Nishikino Hospital Chain, but the Nishikinos bribed these people. Our informant says they have evidence proving the bribery."_

"That is some serious stuff." Nozomi says.

"Yeah…"

Nico looks at Nozomi with an unsure expression. "Do you think the Nishikinos can get out of this?"

Nozomi shakes her head. "I don't know. They are accusing them of some serious crimes."

* * *

"So, while we are waiting for the instructor to arrive, you might as well tell me what you wanted to talk about." Nozomi says.

Nico sighs. "I don't know where to start."

"At the beginning?"

"Sigh…So. Yesterday Maki and I went to the Nishikino Hospital. Before we left, Maki's father remembered something important and asked Maki to come with him. While I was alone I decided to explore the ground floor. I accidentally found myself in front of Kana's room."

Nozomi turns towards Nico at the mention of that familiar name. "Kana? You mean Ueda from Otonoki?"

Nico nods. "I was torn on whether I should enter or not when her mother appeared all of a sudden. I guessed Ueda didn't have many visitors besides her parents and I didn't want to make her mother sad, so I entered."

"The way Ueda acted at first was very odd. She and her mother tried to act normal but it was obvious they were hiding something. They avoided mentioning something on purpose. Ueda was rude to me until her mother left the room. I had no idea why she was so malicious. But when her mother left…she accused me of being sent by "Kagura". Before I could ask her who she was talking about her mother returned and she dropped the subject."

"That's very strange…" Nozomi noted.

"Wait, this is not all. Before all of this happened, I explored the upper floors of the hospital. Everything looked like the same, luxurious and comfortable, until I reached a certain floor. I wasn't really paying attention so I can't remember which floor it was."

"This floor was all empty. No patients, no staff, no one. The floor looked just like the others except that it was a bit unclean, probably because the staff hasn't clean it in a while."

"And what happened?"

"I suddenly heard voices coming from one of the rooms. I walked closer and listened in. It was a woman and a man arguing. I'm pretty sure they were the only ones inside. They were talking about some strange things."

"What did they say?"

"I didn't hear the whole conversation. From what I can tell, the woman was talking about some school she could no longer enter, which apparently made their situation harder. Then they said that Maki almost ruined "everything" because she found some kind of vial and Mrs. Nishikino suspects something is already going on."

"I messed up and those two heard me. I ran back to the elevator as fast as I could, and ran into a nurse. The nurse told me that the floor was called "floor X" and that no one, not even staff members are allowed to enter, since it's undergoing renovations."

"But if no one could enter how did those two get there?" Nozomi asked, becoming more and more fascinated with this strange tale with every second.

"See, that is the interesting thing. This "floor X" looked completely normal minus the dust thing, and nothing indicated it was being renovated. I couldn't smell any paint either."

Nico sighed. "So, that is the full story. Thoughts?"

Nozomi took a moment to think. "This is certainly very unsettling." She tried to put things together in her head but she had no idea where to begin. This whole story seemed so strange.

"Well, we don't have enough info yet but I have one idea."

"And what is your idea?"

"If Maki ruined their plans that means Maki must've done something, right? Perhaps she even saw these two people which was something that wasn't supposed to happen. Maki must know something."

Nico shakes her head. "Yes, but if those two didn't want to be found out then we can't get Maki involved in this. That would be dangerous."

"But if we don't do something things might get worse."

"How do you know that?"

"Instinct. And logic. If they said Maki _almost_ ruined their plans that must mean their plan is still in effect. Who knows what those two people are up to. It's also a possibility there are more people involved."

Nico leans back on her chair and lets out a painful sigh. "Man, why must I always get involved in everything terrible!"

* * *

"Okay, we discussed this "floor X" already, but what about Kagura?" Nozomi asks.

"I honestly have no idea. I mean, I'm witty enough to know Kagura must be a girl, or a woman." Nico proudly exclaims.

"And most likely a member of Otonokizaka." Nozomi adds.

"Right." Nico clears her throat. "So, do you have any ideas?"

"Hmm." Nozomi takes a minute to consider everything Nico said. "If she assumed you were one of this Kagura's goons, that must mean Kagura has a large following. I'm positive we are looking for a very influental girl."

"And do you have any good candidates?"

Nozomi furrows her eyebrows. "What's wrong?" Nico asks.

"I have someone in mind, but I hope I'm wrong."

Nico gives her a questioning look. "And who is that?"

Nozomi pinches her nose playfully in response. "I'll tell you after I make sure she is or isn't the girl we are looking for."

Nico groans. _Great, now she is keeping secrets. Why must everyone hide things from me?_

"Okay. And do you have any idea why the atmosphere was so tense between Ueda and her mother? Like, what was the thing neither wanted to talk about?"

"No idea. Maybe you should ask Ueda. You are probably the only one from Otonoki she'd talk to."

Nico shakes her head. "I'm pretty sure interrogating her about what she definitely doesn't want to talk about is a terrible idea. And I have a feeling she wouldn't talk about it no matter how many times I tried."

The two spot the instructor in the distance. He greets them cheerfully and says sorry for being so late.

"I'm sorry for being so late, I had an important meeting with the staff members."

"It's fine." The two girls reply.

"Alright. Yazawa, you'll help out Umi today. Tojo, you'll help out Hanayo. Umi is in the library and Hanayo is at the running track. Most likely helping Rin, or something. I hope both of you will have an enjoyable day. Have fun!"

The instructor quickly runs up the stairs and disappears from their sight.

"Poor guy just can't catch a break." Nico notes.

"Yeah. Anyways, I believe we are going in different directions. How about we meet up after our job is over?" Nozomi asks.

"Sounds fun."

"Then that's settled. Have a good day!"

"Try not to scare Hanayo to death, okay?" Nico winks. Nozomi winks back.

When Nico disappears from her sight as well, Nozomi slowly begins walking towards the running field. She takes her time, since Hanayo is in good hands right now anyways. Hopefully Rin didn't make her run a few laps as well!

"Well, that was certainly an interesting story." Nozomi mentally notes.

"I wonder what the cards would say."

Nozomi pulls out a card from her left pocket.

It's Death.

* * *

 **Reviews and criticism are welcome!**


	11. Chapter 11

Okay, maybe the strategy to become friends with someone is not to subtly pry into their personal life and biggest issues, especially if your "friend-to-be" is a short fused person with red hair.

Definitely not.

In Nico's defense, spending the rest of the day with Maki (albeit with Umi's company as a bonus, so it isn't so bad) and playing private detective wasn't her plan. She most definitely wouldn't spend today with Maki if she had the choice, to be honest.

And it's not like she wants to hear about Maki's private life so desperately, no. No. Absolutely not. She'd much rather listen to the sound of a meat grinder. At least the meat grinder doesn't talk back or makes witty and insulting comments about you every minute.

No one can accuse her of poking her nose where it doesn't belong. She was more than tired of this whole scandal about the Nishikino family and the mysterious people who Maki must've seen in the past.

She wasn't even supposed to spend this wonderful day in Maki's company in the first place. Umi was significantly less annoying, perhaps because she couldn't hear and therefore couldn't talk back whenever Nico said something.

So what actually happened? It's simple.

After parting ways with Nozomi Nico went straight to Umi's room. On her way she had more than enough time to think about the earlier conversation with Nozomi. The fact that Nozomi obviously knew something, something that was likely important or even crucial, but decided not to share this information with Nico bothered her.

What does she have to hide, anyways?

It's not like Nico isn't smart enough to figure it out on her own, anyways. Nozomi has no connections to Nishikino Hospital, perhaps she never ever visited the complex once, and Nozomi didn't know Maki for longer than she did, therefore she obviously doesn't know more than Nico does in that regard.

It must be someone from Otonoki.

Nico actually stops to think about this for a moment. She buys a chocolate bar from the automat in the meanwhile, the sweetest there is. Despite being so sweet it would make your teeth decay in an instant, the first bite leaves a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

When she and Maki stopped in between one of their countless arguments a few days ago, Nico found herself in front of the same machine with the same chocolate bar. Despite having a temporary truce with Maki, the redhead girl still couldn't stop making fun of Nico's tastes.

"How can you eat something so sweet like that?" She said.

Nico turned around to face her greatest enemy. She took a while to reply, eyeing Maki's features in the meantime. _Well, not everyone has the money to dine at a French restaurant whenever they want, princess._

"Did you ever try it or are you just dissing me out of spite again?" Nico questioned, trying to force as much confidence into her voice as possible. As expected, Maki went into defensive mode at the subtle accusation.

"No? I care about my own health, so why would I eat something like that?" She started playing with her red locks again, a sign of awkwardness.

"A candy bar a day won't destroy your diet, little girl. You are still pretty much fed by your parents and the nurses here, so you are one to talk. Did you ever have to shop for ingredients? I think not."

Maki groans in frustration. It's a low sound, but Nico's already more than used to reading this girl's cues, so she knows she is right, and that makes Maki frustrated.

 _Geez, this girl just cannot accept being wrong._

"W-what does that have to do with anything? I doubt your only option is to eat garbage like this."

"You eat tomatoes everytime I see you, but me eating a single candy bar is weird?"

"Whatever. It's just disgusting. But you are what you eat, I guess." Maki doesn't wait for Nico to come up with a no doubt witty reply. She starts walking, leaving Nico behind. But she cannot leave things like that.

"Is that why your hair is red?" Nico asks, loud enough for Maki to hear, even louder so others could hear it too. A couple students instinctively look towards the person the question was aimed at, causing Maki to blush furiously and quicken her pace.

Nico hears a faint "asshole" come out of her mouth, but she might just be imagining that. But that doesn't even matter, because she won another important battle in their war.

Things are always like this. Arguments about the smallest of things, usually started by Maki of course. Nico is not one to start conflicts with others, of course. It's not her fault Maki is so different, so pompous she cannot stop herself from making a snide remark.

Their battles are enjoyable in their own way. It's like a drug. Not good for your health, but you still keep coming back for more.

She's not sure things would ever change between them, but she is fine with this setup for the time being.

But enough with the flashbacks, let's get moving. Umi is considerably calmer, nicer and better than Maki and Nico expects a calm and peaceful afternoon spent with her talking about her favourite idols while Umi listens. No reason to become angry and raise her voice if Maki isn't there.

Of course Maki is there.

She enters the deaf girls room calmer than the sea on a summer night, already thinking of the topics the two must discuss together. She notices Umi instantly, sitting on her bed and reading some sort of teen magazine.

Nico is ready to announce her presence with her cheerful voice, but then she notices that red colour that makes her eyes bleed from even a thousand meters.

Of course it's Maki.

Nico let's her presence be known before she remembers Umi is deaf. She always forgets that. Oh well, at least Maki looks up at her instantly.

Umi notices Maki's movements and looks in the same direction. The difference is so noticeable it could poke your eyes out: Umi looks at her with a calm and sincere expression, while Maki has a frown on her face.

The next minutes are spent with the two arguing and Umi calmly listening which Nico finds impressive considering they are talking so fast and their lip movements must be hard to follow and read.

Maki let's her know that if she knew Umi was spending her day with a person like her she would have stayed in her own room. Nico agrees.

Despite making it clear she doesn't enjoy Nico's presence, she just continues arguing and doesn't leave the two alone just to annoy Nico even more.

Now the three are sitting in Umi's bed, seemingly looking at magazines but in truth only Umi is doing that; Nico and Maki just continue to glare at eachother, eagerly waiting for the other's next move.

They sit like that for many agonizing minutes and it's like trench warfare. Umi is the line, the no mans land that keeps the two from continuing their pointless arguments while the two warring sides just wait for the right time to launch their attack.

Nico decides things have to change. Sitting like this, without saying a word, or rather, writing a word even though she has so much to discuss with Umi makes her annoyed.

"So, I heard an interesting story."

Both Umi and Maki look at her. Nico repeats her sentence to make sure Umi understands. Things can get pretty awkward for a deaf person when the others ignore their disability. Umi made sure to teach Nico that.

Neither girls say anything or ask anything so Nico takes that as a cue to continue.

"There was a girl who had a part time job at a company. She's been working for the company for nearly half a year when she overheard a conversation between two people. It was a man and a woman and they were talking about something that could get the entire company in danger."

Umi "listens" eagerly, not seeing the hidden meaning behind Nico's words but Maki noticeably gets nervous. She plays with her hair again, the most obvious sign of nervousness.

"…The girl gets away before the two can get her but they see her. They know who she is but cannot do anything to her yet. On the other hand, the girl cannot act either, because she is afraid. Or maybe she just lacks the confidence to tell someone about what she heard."

Nico finishes her story and waits for the others to think about it a bit.

 _"Sounds almost like something out of a crime novel. Where did you hear this?"_ Umi asks.

Nico looks at Maki. She is obviously nervous. _Bingo._

"I just heard my classmates talk about it the other day. They probably got this story from one of those lame TV dramas." Nico slowly turns to Maki.

"So what's your opinion, smartass? What should the girl do?" Nico tries to sound less serious to make her intentions less obvious.

Maki clears her throat. "Well, it's not that hard. She should just tell someone about it before it's too late."

"You make it sound so easy."

The girl looks straight into Nico's eyes and she wonders for a moment if Maki knows Nico knows something. No, that's very unlikely.

"Whatever, it's just a dumb story anyways."

Nico doesn't pry any further, but the redhead is strangely quiet for the rest of the day and Nico takes that as a warning sign. Maybe she should've waited more?

 _But if we don't do something things might get worse._

Nozomi's words ring in her ears. She wanted to spend the rest of the day without even mentioning this whole story and yet there she is, right in the middle of it again.

Umi doesn't notice anything thankfully.

* * *

When they part ways things don't get much better. Umi finally noticed the awkward, near suffocating atmosphere but she thinks Nico and Maki must've had a nasty argument again. Sometimes Nico wonders if any of the girls here keep a counter for their arguments.

On the bright side, Maki is at least quiet now. She must be thinking about their conversation earlier and Nico doesn't pry. She doesn't want Maki to get scared and later refuse to help her and Nozomi completely.

It's already getting dark outside and Nico wants to go home and spend time with her siblings so desperately, but she has to meet up with Nozomi first.

Umi decides it's better to leave the two alone and with a goodbye, she goes back to her room.

Nico and Maki stand there awkwardly, neither knowing what to do now. Nico is afraid Maki might ask her whom she heard this story from for real, because even Nico realizes her story earlier was a sad excuse of an explanation, and Maki is afraid that Nico might continue the earlier conversation.

Nico decides they cannot stand here for an eternity although making Nozomi wait for a change entertains her. She might wait ten minutes just to be late.

But then Nico realizes Nozomi would definitely not care about that. She still wonders if there's anything that can irk this strange girl.

"So anyways…" Maki's voice comes so suddenly Nico awakens from her thoughts.

"Why are you just standing there? Are you so drawn to Nico's presence you can't bring yourself to go?" Nico says in her usual mocking tone which finally brings back Maki's old personality.

"W-what? I was just trying to say goodbye nicely but you just had to be mean again of course."

"Look who's talking!"

"You are insufferable! I'm going back to my room now." Maki swiftly turns around but as soon as she takes a step, she flinches. She grabs her knee in pain and let's out a soft "oww".

Nico rushes to her side. "What's wrong?"

Maki stands up again like nothing's happened. It takes one look into her expressive eyes to know she is not fine though. While her posture reads 'confidence', she can easily see the pain in her eyes.

"Nothing. Anyways, don't you have something to do? I'm going back."

And with that she walks away.

* * *

It's dark when she spots Nozomi, sitting under a tree in front of the school. It's going to rain soon from the looks of it, so they better hurry somewhere else quick.

Nozomi waves at her like they are good friends who haven't seen eachother in weeks and Nico just rolls her eyes.

"How was your day?" Nozomi asks but Nico ignores her. She looks up at the clouds that get darker with every passing second, a signal that a storm is coming.

 _What a great time to be standing outside without neither an umbrella or a raincoat._

"Let's skip these questions and just go somewhere quick. If I get soaked I'll murder you."

Nico dashes forward, expecting the other girl to follow her.

"Oh my, cheerful as always. Did you get in a fight with Umi? That's quite impressive." Nozomi giggles, and Nico wonders for a short second if Nozomi is even worse than Maki.

 _No, Maki is definitely worse._

* * *

The café they found refuge in is small but homely.

The small leather chairs and the wooden tables smell old, but it is a comforting smell. It smells like old friends and classmates and furniture they have thrown out and replaced with new ones and an old home that is so distant it's almost nothing but a memory.

It's exactly the time when colleagues, friends and classmates leave their workplace, their school and go out for a couple drinks even if many of them are not even old enough, and Nico is sure at least half the students inside are either using fake IDs or are on good terms with the café's owner.

The place is crowded but strangely, she finds the loud noises, the faint laughs and the drunk ramblings of strangers more comforting than silence. It's just like in elementary school again, when all the students found refuge inside a small classroom and no one could leave – unless you wanted to get soaked to the bone.

This situtation left them vulnerable. A bunch of people who never talked to each other before are now stuck in such a small place, and the students have to talk, otherwise the suffocating silence and the sound of rain would drive them insane.

Nico was never close to her classmates, but even she felt a small connection with the others at times like these. Right now they weren't complete strangers to each other, just a bunch of people seeking refuge from the pouring rain.

The business has to keep going and even in times like these the sight of so many soaked people don't reach the hearts of the waitresses. After a minute of reaching the café and sitting down one of them comes straight to their table and makes it clear that they either pay for something, or they can leave.

They _can_ leave but they obviously _will not_ so they order something instead.

Nozomi orders a cafe latte and Nico orders a café au lait with more sugar than Maki has probably consumed in her whole life. Nozomi gives her a weird look at the sight of her pouring an endless amount of sugar into the small cup, but when Nico gives her the stink eye she decides not to ask.

They sit in quiet silence for a short while, and while Nico listens to the sound of rain and looks at the soaked girls trying to reach the other side so they could enter the café, Nozomi checks her phone. Nico assumes she is waiting for a message from Eli, but she doesn't feel like asking.

When Nozomi is finished she puts away her phone, takes a sip of her hot coffee and looks at Nico.

"Sooo…"

Nico clears her throat. "I ended up with Maki's insufferable presence once again."

Nozomi laughs. "You two do spend a lot of time together, despite trying to avoid each other."

Nico looks at the entrance. The three girls who stood on the opposite end of the road previously have finally arrived. They are soaked to the bone and even their umbrellas couldn't help them. The wind was blowing so hard outside, it's a miracle the girls themselves didn't fly away.

"Just my luck, I guess." The three girls sit down at the table right in front of her. "I feel like even if I hid from her we'd still end up together somehow."

Nozomi takes another sip of her coffee and hums when she realizes it's no longer hot. She reminds Nico of an old woman.

"You two sure have a magnetic attraction."

* * *

It's way too late when she finally looks up from the pile of papers.

She slowly stands up and looks outside. The skies are dark and she can see lightning from the other side of the city. The loud thunder makes it near impossible to finish the rest of the documents, so with a sigh, Eli decides to call it a day.

"Sigh. Can't continue on like this. Better finish the rest tomorrow."

She grabs her coat and takes out her emergency umbrella. Good thing she always plans ahead.

While she is getting ready and putting the documents in the right places she thinks back to Nozomi. Her best friend acted rather strange today. She usually acts confident because she always knows more than other, but just now it seemed like she was in the dark, and that annoyed her.

And what about this 'Kagura'?

It's not really that common a name nowadays, so it's no surprise there are no girls with such a name at the school. It doesn't sound like a nice name either. Such a name suits a pompous and graceful woman better than a highschool girl.

 _Kagura, Kagura…_

There was such a name, a name and time she had long forgotten… But that has nothing to do with this, anyways.

After she checks one of the documents one last time – it's a girl's student application, one of the many on her desk -, she turns towards the door, ready to finally leave. _Today was an exceptionally tiresome day._

She turns off the lights, and now the room turns almost completely dark, and Eli realizes only now just how late it actually is.

To Eli's surprise, someone on the other side slowly turns the doorknob and the door opens slowly. _Excruciatingly_ slowly, in Eli's opinion.

Just as the door is open enough for Eli to see the intruder, she hears a loud thundering noise and the lightning from outside lits up the entire room.

The whole scene feels like one of those cliche horror movies she and Nozomi used to watch in the cinema before Eli was buried under her work again and had much less time to spend with her friend.

"Oh Eli, good timing. I was just looking for you."

Hiromi doesn't sound surprised by this sudden meeting at all, and Eli is sure there's a hint of mockery in the girl's tone somewhere. Is she amused by Eli's surprised reaction?

"Hiromi, why are you still here? I thought you went home already." Eli asks, trying to sound as confident as possible, a bit annoyed at the fact that Hiromi didn't tell her she was still in.

"Relax, I went home but I remembered I wanted to talk to you about something important, so I came back. That's the whole mystery." Without waiting for a reply Hiromi walks past her and sits on the edge of the desk.

"What is it?" Eli asks further, a bit unsure about where this conversation is going.

Hiromi only smiles at her nervousness, and it's not one of those sincere smiles people usually give you. It's a mocking smile, an expression that knows you are unsure and fragile, a smile that reads _"I've caught you in my web."_

"It's about Ueda."

Eli feels her heart skip a few beats and her legs feel like they are glued to the floor. The two have already discussed this topic more than enough times already and it's just beating a dead horse at this point, so what more they could possibly talk about…?

"We already talked about this and we came to an agreement, what else is there to talk about?" Eli blurts out, and now even she can tell her voice was full of worry, and it's no way Hiromi didn't pick up on that.

"I know, but something happened. The plan has to change."

 _Plan?_ Eli hated it when Hiromi put it that way…

"Did something happen?" Eli moves a bit closer to her friend and sits down next to her. She doesn't usually sit on desks because she finds it rude, but for now she'll make an exception.

Hiromi lets out a quiet laugh. "Something interesting, actually. Mildly interesting." She stops for a second to scout Eli's reaction. Although the blonde doesn't look at her, Hiromi can tell she is nervous by the way she grabs the side of the desk.

"Well come on now, don't keep me waiting." Eli tries to play it cool, but she is sure Hiromi already knows this waiting makes her uncomfortable. _Caught in a spider's web…_

"Do you remember Hibiki? From class 2B?" Eli looks at her curiously.

"The girl with long brown hair? The one who is your current lady-in-waiting now?" Hiromi only snorts in response. "She's just my, I don't know, current closest friend. I hate it when you put it that way."

Of course Eli remembered Hibiki. She was one of the nicest students in school, generally well-liked by almost everyone. She was an average student in terms of academic performance but depsite that even the teachers seemed to really favour her.

And then one day something happened between her and Nozomi, and Eli's sure Hiromi was involved, but she never asked, and Nozomi made sure to tell her never to place her trust in Hibiki. Hiromi was surprisingly quiet about the whole incident and always evaded Eli's questions. Eli's pretty sure the already 'not exactly the best' relationship between her best friend and Hiromi went downhill after that.

Either way, Eli never told Hiromi or her "current closest friend" about what Nozomi said and always acted completely normal and friendly with Hibiki, but she took Nozomi's advice and made sure to deny Hibiki's advances.

"Well, not my fault you act like a princess all the time." Hiromi gives her an offended look and if Eli was less composed right now she'd surely laugh at her reaction.

"I don't act like that! At least, not anymore. I changed." Hiromi states matter of factly and puts her hand on her heart for added dramatic impact. _She truly is like a princess._

"Did you really?"

Hiromi looks at her with narrowed eyes upon hearing this accusation, and Eli can finally catch a glimpse of the old Hiromi…the true Hiromi.

"What's with your condescending attitude today? Did that Nozomi girl fill your head with those conspiracy theories of hers again?" Hiromi's voice wavers a bit before she clears her throat and collects herself again.

"I'm just…I'm just a bit tired. I mean, there's a raging storm outside and I was just ready to get home _one way or another_ before you appeared all of a sudden like a movie villain. Besides, leave Nozomi out of this."

"Whatever. Keep defending her. But I'm telling you…" And here she makes a dramatic gesture again. "…it's not a good idea to trust someone like her. I mean, from what I heard she was a complete weirdo before Otonoki and everyone avoided her."

Eli walks forward a bit to increase the distance between them. A loud thunder hits again, mimicking the way Eli feels inside right now. "That's just a stupid rumor! Besides, how can you be so sure it's true if you never heard her end of the story?"

Hiromi lets out an annoyed – but no less dramatic – sigh. "Think what you want, but don't tell me I didn't warn you."

Eli opens her mouth to object, but decides it's better to drop the whole subject altogether. The storm is only getting worse and Eli's sure she won't make it home without the rain ruining her hair, and arguing with Hiromi is pointless.

Somehow, she always wins.

"Let's just drop it, okay?" Hiromi nods in agreement, and Eli just knows she must be savouring her victory inside. "Back to the beginning…what's this 'mildly interesting' thing you were talking about?"

Hiromi slowly walks towards the door and suddenly spins around, like she's some thousand years old being about to tell the heroine the deepest secrets of the world.

"Okay, buckle up because this is going to be interesting." Eli rolls her eyes. "Yes, _mildly_ interesting, but you've already told me that."

Hiromi opens her mouth and Eli just knows the story is about to begin, but unfortunately, their story night is cut short by a phone call.

Hiromi makes an offended expression as Eli slowly raises the phone to her ear. "Hello?... Alisa?... Sorry, I was just about to leave. I'll be home in 20 minutes."

"Sister troubles?" Hiromi asks and watches as Eli hastily grabs her belongings and runs for the door. "What, going already?"

"Yeah. Alisa was worried about the storm so she decided to call me. Apparently there's a small hole somewhere on the upper floor and the rain is leaking through. I better get going before something worse happens."

"Well then. I guess we'll continue our discussion some other time?"

Eli nods. "I'm really sorry."

Hiromi shakes her head. "It's fine. You better get home before your baby sister drowns in rain water."

Eli quickly rushes through the door and Hiromi can hear her loud steps from the hallway. She peeks outside to see Eli running down the stairs like an Olympic athlete.

"Don't be so fast or you'll slip, dummy!"

* * *

"The rain won't stop anytime soon, I'm afraid."

Nico looks outside again. It's been raining like hell for a good hour and it's been getting worse.

"Geez, why is it that when we decide to meet up it starts raining like it hasn't rained in years?"

"Looks like a case of bad luck."

Nico groans. "I was talking to myself, thank you very much."

At the very least this one hour stuck together inside a café wasn't a complete boredom. The café is more than full at this point, with people seeking shelter from the storm standing in the middle of the café because all the seats are taken. The drenched girls from earlier are still here, and they have successfully forgotten the situation outside from the looks of it.

They are talking about the hottest boys and girls from school, as expected from teenagers, with some occasional small talk about random news they heard in the radio or elsewhere.

As for Nico and Nozomi, they have already discussed everything that happened today and came to the conclusion that if they want to uncover this mystery, they definitely have to get some info out of either Maki or Ueda.

To avoid Nico dying from extremely high blood pressure they have decided that Nozomi will go talk to Maki and Nico will handle Ueda. Nico's not so sure what she's gonna do, but hopefully things won't end up like a disaster.

She's sure Nozomi will do much better, though. When she mentioned her earlier conversation with Maki, Nozomi said that the redhead probably feels guilty for keeping quiet, judging by her reaction. If they drive Maki into a corner she'll refuse to talk even more, so their best bet is to go with a more 'subtle' approach.

And Nozomi is better with that…

* * *

She's been running for what felt like ages, but her house was still nowhere in sight.

Truth be told, Eli wasn't sure why she completely skipped the bus station and ran all the way. That way, she wouldn't be completely drenched from head to toe, running through the city on the muddy streets like a madman.

But hey, she is the voice of reason all the time, she deserves to make stupid decisions once in a while.

Strangely, Eli doesn't feel terrible for her current situation. Running through the streets, the dark alleyways while it rains on her head doesn't feel so bad. It makes her feel a sense of freedom, in a way.

There was barely anyone outside right now, not like Eli could blame them. The streets, no, the entire city felt deserted and quiet, and Eli felt like it was close to midnight, even though it was only 21.30.

She's just about to run through a red traffic light because _screw it, if she stopped for even a second she'd be drenched to the bone and would definitely end up in bed with a bad cold tomorrow_ , and there was nothing she hated more than sitting in one place without doing anything.

But then her phone rang. _Impeccable timing._

She was ready to take her phone out and answer the call before her common sense came back to her and realized that'd be stupid. Her phone was pretty expensive, but on the other hand, not waterproof.

She _definitely_ didn't want to bother her parents with sending her money to buy a new model. How stupid would that be, her parents are very busy adults with responsibilities, they have better things to do than buying a phone for a girl who thought running through half the city in a storm was a good idea.

But her phone just keeps ringing, and it hits her, what if it's Nozomi, or, _God_ , what if it's Alisa calling her, wanting to tell her big sister, her role model, to be faster because the situation got even worse!

Eli decides to stop under an apartment building, seeking shelter for the rain. She only feels the freezing cold on her skin when she stops moving. No wonder, her clothes are as wet as they could possibly be.

She slowly takes out her cellphone, which is still ringing like crazy, a stark contrast to the silence of the night. The ringtone is a generic, cheerfuly jpop song, a song Nozomi set as her ringtone, and the song makes Eli feel a bit embarrassed.

To her surprise, the caller is neither Nozomi nor her sister. Maeda Junko is written on the screen, in capital letters.

 _What._

She definitely didn't expect that and she honestly has little idea what Ms. Maeda could possibly want at this hour. Either way, she picks up.

"Hello? Ms. Maeda?"

 _"Hello Eli. Sorry for calling you at this hour. I hope I didn't interrupt anything."_

 _Nothing except for my running exercise,_ Eli mentally notes.

"No, no, it's fine. I wasn't doing anything in particular. Is something wrong?"

 _"I just called you because I remembered I left an important document at the school, and tomorrow I'll be very busy so I can't go back for it. I went back to school an hour or so ago but the document was nowhere to be found. Did you take it home with you by any chance?"_

"Erm, maybe? Which document are you talking about?"

 _"The school's application for the nationwide modernization program. I completely forgot it's due this week and…"_ The teacher clears her throat, _"…I forgot to tell you about it as well."_

"Oh right, I remember! I did take it home with me yesterday."

 _"Right. So, could you fax me a copy of it, please? It's urgent, as you now know."_

Eli is ready to say yes before she remembers her current situation. She groans in frustration.

 _Truly impeccable timing._

"I'm sorry Ms. Maeda, but I can't. Not right now."

 _"Oh? What's the matter?"_ The teacher asks on the other end of the line.

"I…I'm not at home."

Silence.

 _"But it's almost 10PM."_

"I know."

More confused silence.

 _"Sooo…what happened?"_

Eli sighs in defeat. She isn't in the mood for explaining but Maeda is just the type of adult who won't stop bothering you until you tell them what they want to know.

"I stayed in school and was busy with sorting the document and I didn't notice just how bad the rain was. By the time I stepped outside it was practically like a scene from an apocalypse movie."

 _"And you are still waiting for the bus? They come and go less frequently at this hour."_

"Actually… I kind of ended up running all the way to where I am now, with no bus station or anything of that sort in sight."

 _"Oh."_

Eli doesn't want to imagine what Ms. Maeda must be thinking right now, but her current situation is pretty stupid indeed.

 _"Do you want me to pick you up?"_

The sudden offer hits Eli like a truck and she definitely wasn't expecting that.

"That's really nice of you, but I don't want to cause you trouble. I'll get home on my own."

 _"Don't be like that, with the current storm outside it will take a long time to get home and I imagine you are not in top form at the moment. Just tell me the address and I'll be there in a moment."_

Eli wants to protest that it's stupid, she doesn't want her teacher to get in danger because who knows what can happen to her in this storm…but then again, we are talking about Maeda, if she decides something then it'd take a force much mightier than Eli to change her mind.

* * *

It takes only 15 minutes for Maeda to arrive with her car and save Eli.

The Toyota Prius α stops right in front of her to make sure not even a drop of rain falls on her while she gets inside. Not like that matters anymore, with every part of her body drenched, but she appreciates the gesture nonetheless.

The inside of the car is just so much warmer, so much more comfortable compared to the air outside, and Eli takes a second to drown herself in this feeling.

That is, until she realizes she is wet from head to toe and is about to sit in a completely clean car.

"Don't worry about it, just sit down."

Eli does as told and Maeda starts the car.

"You live that far away from here and you decided to just run the distance?" Maeda asks and laughs, and if Eli didn't know Maeda well enough she'd surely think she's mocking her.

"I don't know what got to me. It was a dumb idea."

Maeda looks at her with a comforting smile on her face. "Yes, it was, but everyone makes stupid decisions once in a while."

* * *

"That's your house, right?"

Eli nods. "Thank you so much for driving me here, really. It was really nice of you."

"It's nothing. I'm glad I came for you before you got yourself in danger, actually. Who knows what could happen if the weather's like this."

Eli only nods in agreement. "Actually, now that you are here, do you want me to get the documents for you?"

"That's a good idea. Let's get those nasty documents quick, I don't want to bother you and your sister at this late hour." Maeda steps outside the car and the two quickly run inside the house.

Alisa greets them inside.

"Eli, what took you so long?!" Alisa asks, worry iminent on her face. She attacks her older sister with a hug and the force of it is almost enough to make Eli fall.

"I'm sorry! I was just…kind of busy."

When Alisa finally lets go she notices the intruder behind her sister. Maeda just stands there awkwardly, not wanting to interrupt the sisters' moment.

"Oh…"

"She's Ms. Maeda, a teacher from the school." Eli then turns towards Maeda. "And this is Alisa, my sister."

Alisa bows politely and Maeda gently pats her head in response. "So you are the little sister, huh. Eli told me a lot of things about you."

"Really?" Maeda nods. "Yeah. She talks about you all the time."

Alisa's face goes red and then her eyes widen in realization. Before Eli can ask her what's wrong she runs up the stairs.

"Alisa, what's wrong?" Eli asks worriedly.

"The rain keeps pouring in through this small hole. I put a bucket under it but there's just too much water!"

When Eli finally realizes what's going on she immediatelly drops her bag on the floor and runs up to the attic. A rather grim sight welcomes her.

Just as her sister said, there's a small hole on the ceiling that's big enough for the rain to pour in. The bucket Alisa was talking about was already filled with rain water, and now the rain was falling on the floor.

"Oh no!" Eli quickly runs towards the door to get another, bigger bucket but she bumps into Maeda on her way.

"Hey, calm down. What's going on?"

Eli quickly explains the current situation and Maeda, the good teacher she is, decides to help out. Right now all three are busy trying to get rid of this bothersome hole somehow.

Maeda and Alisa mop the floor before the family's property gets wet as well while Eli tries to find something that could fit into the hole.

In the end they decide the best course of action is to put a dusty piece of cloth in the hole and it more or less blocks the rain from coming in.

For safety's sake, they decide to keep the bucket under the hole for the night. They can figure out what to do afterwards.

Eli almost forgot why Maeda is here.

"Oh right. The documents are in my room."

A few seconds later Eli comes back with the desired papers in hand. "This should be it."

"Thank you. It's really late so I should be going now. Sorry for butting in."

Eli shakes her head. "I should be sorry for making you come all the way for me and then having to clean up this mess."

"It's fine. You should change before you catch a cold though." Ms. Maeda pats her shoulders playfully. "And try not to run through a raging storm next time."

"Duly noted. Thank you for your help, Ms. Maeda."

* * *

After she makes sure Alisa is sleeping peacefully in her bed, Eli goes back to the attic.

She's making sure everything is fine and also doing the rest of the cleaning, to make sure everything is back to how they were before today's incident.

There's just so much stuff here. Nearly everything since they moved to Japan but no longer need on a daily basis is kept here, from old photo albums to paintings, Alisa's old toys, Eli's notebooks from middle school and so much more.

All of this makes her feel sort of nostalgic. It's always so strange how the things you barely paid attention to in the past come back as cherished memories in the future, like time makes everything look better.

As she continues searching through her "memories", Eli finds an old photo.

There are three girls. Eli, Hiromi and her.

The photo alone makes her heart ache and the memories come flooding back. It hurts to look at it, but at the same time, it's a cherished memory.

 _Perhaps this is the only photo with the three of us together._

It takes only a second to find all the letters near where she found this photo. One would think these letters are like in movies, all covered in dust, torn and written in a way that's almost impossible to make out what was written, but no.

These letters look just like what young girls would write, the paper clean and white, and these letters really take her back. Almost like it was yesterday.

An hour or so passes before she notices how late it is, and tomorrow's school and she definitely cannot afford to come to school lacking sleep.

Putting the letters back feels like saying goodbye, and no matter how painful it is, she cannot keep looking at them forever.

She's taking the photo with her, though.

It really is a nice picture and the only lasting memory of the three of them together, and she doesn't want to let go of it.

 _Better put it away in my room before someone throws it out and I lose it forever._

Before she enters her room she listens to the sounds outside. It's still raining.

"Eli, are you okay?"

The sudden voice startles her. She slowly turns around to see her sister standing in front of her bedroom.

"You should go back to bed, it's really late."

Alisa shakes her head sleepily. "Is something bothering you?" She asks, and Eli turns her head away so Alisa cannot see her expression.

"I'm fine, really. Just a bit tired."

Alisa eyes her suspiciously. Her eyes land on the photo in her hands.

"Is that a photo?"

Eli quickly turns the photo around so the picture part is no longer facing Alisa's direction. "It's just an old class photo from middle school."

"Okay." Alisa yawns. "Goodnight, Eli."

Eli smiles. "Goodnight."

Alisa goes back to her room and closes the door. Eli does the same and takes off the uniform. It's still wet and Eli is glad she keeps another pair at home.

Before she gets in bed she changes her mind and walks to her desk. The old photo is placed right next to her photo with Nozomi, and her photo with Alisa.

"I really should put this away before Nozomi sees it."

She puts it inside her drawer, under some papers and whatnot, and when she is done, she finally plops down on her bed.

Her limbs tired from the running and her mind tired because of the memories, she quickly falls asleep.

* * *

 **You know that feeling when you come up with an exciting plot and you are like 'man you are so smart this is the best story ever' but then you remember you still have to write ~10 chapters until the big revelation and you have no idea what to write in between? That's what happened. Writers block.**

 **School also made it really hard to write so I couldn't but thankfully I'm back.**

 **Sorry for the long wait everyone.**

 **Also is it weird that I haven't seen Sunshine yet and yet whenever I write Hiromi's character I imagine Dia?**

 **Reviews and criticism are welcome!**


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